Conflicted Minds
by RavenExpert
Summary: Being a hero is always America's dream. However, the path to become a hero is harder than everyone thought. He has to deal with his own past and his inner self in order to become a true hero. Now he had to choose between two different entities in his own mind. Rated T for angst, blood, etc.
1. Prologue: The Nightmare

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 1: Prologue: The Nightmare

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

_**"Let me show you something, you pathetic."**_

_A soft, yet creepy voice was sneering in between the darkness of where the nation stood._

_**"Don't give me that face. You'll realize soon enough."**  
_

_The whole place was an absolute darkness, until it subsided and turned into a scene._

_It turned into a room. A simple room, similar to a classroom.  
_

_In the middle of the room, stood a young man. He carried something similar to an axe._

_No. It was an axe._

_However, something was weird._

_Yes. There were drips of blood on the blade._

_The blood were not just there._

_The whole room is filled by blood. The walls, floors, tables... everything._

_Including a sea of mutilated corpses in the room._

_They were not human anymore. They didn't look like human anymore._

_So, what are they?_

_...  
_

_**"Feeling nostalgic? You do remember, right? See this horrible scene? Shall I remind you?"**_

_What is this, actually? Who are they? Who are these people? Why am I here? What is this voice? Who is it?  
_

_**"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED THEM ALL!"**_

...

* * *

...

The pleasant morning had to be disturbed by the scream of a young man who had just awaken from his sleep. He sat on his bed, while still sweating and thinking hard about that previous horror he just had. Of course, no one could tell what kind of dream he had. The horrors were joined into one, scaring him even more. He is a scaredy cat to begin with, although he clearly denies it all.

Though, that horror was interrupted by the sound of a knocking door. The sitting person looked at the door in shock and widened eyes, because of the nightmare he had. But, the voice from the other side of the door, eased his feelings.

_"America! Are you awake yet?"_

He sighed. Not a sigh of disappointment, but a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I'm awake!"

Someone came into the room. It was a young man, with a similar face to him. He hugged a white polar bear, well, a rather medium-sized, white pet polar bear. He had a really soft voice, and who knows why, he's also pretty much... transparent.

"Hey, Canada, dude! What are you doing here in my house?" America was somehow excited.

"I came here to wake you up. We're going to have a World Meeting near my house, remember? I figure that you might come late again, so I decided to come over." Canada sighed a bit.

"No worries, dude!" America quickly went out from the bed and prepared to take a bath. Before he took his towel, Canada had a concerned look on his eyes.

"America... Did you have one of those nightmares again?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? It's all fine!"

"You don't have to lie, you know? It's been very frequent lately. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't have to worry about me! Why don't you wait for me outside? I'm gonna be ready as soon as I could!"

Canada sighed.

"America, we are brothers. You can tell me anything that's bugging you."

"...Sometime later. After the meeting. How about it?"

"Alright. Just don't forget."

Canada went outside as America said, and the latter prepared himself. Several minutes later, he met Canada in the hallway outside his bedroom with his trademark clothes. The Canadian sighed a bit as soon as he saw that the American was chewing a hamburger.

"Alright, let's, go!"

...

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

...

Both of them went off to the meeting place in Canada's home. After all members had assembled, they quickly started the meeting, but as usual, nothing went right.

"Hahaha! And that's my idea for the problem of that global warming thingy!"

"That's just too unreal, you bloody git! And use proper English!"

"Aww, c'mon, England! There's nothing wrong with my American English!"

"You should've learned some French as well~ It is the most beautiful language in the world, _non_?"

"No one asked for your opinion, frog!"

"Shut your trap, you former hoodlum!"

France and England started to bicker again.

...

"Aww... Roma! You're ever so cute when angry!" A seemingly leisure guy was circling his arms around an angry-looking person.

"Shut up, you tomato _bastardo!_"

"You and Ita-chan are very cute! Why don't you come over for a dinner?"

"_Sì!_ I'll go, Big brother Spain! How about you,_ Fratello_?"

"Shut up! Even if hell freezes off, I'm so not gonna go!"

"C'mon, Romano! You can at least give me a visit!"

"I only came for the tomatoes, not for you!"

...

"Kesesese~! Hey, West! Why don't go for a round here!?"

"_Bruder_... Why are you here!? You're not even a nation anymore!"

"The awesome me will be here anytime, anywhere!"

"I will need to chain you up again..." The German could only facepalm himself.

...

"Those two never quits... Can't they stop fighting for once?"

"Ufufu~ China, do you want to go to my house later today?"

"Wha-! Go away! I'm not going to become one with you!"

"_брат_, let's get married, married, married, married..."

"AHH! Belarus, GO HOME!"

"Even though you run, I will chase after you anywhere you go..."

...

"I think I'm just going to follow whatever America-san said..."

"Japan! Stand up for yourself for once! Say your own opinions!"

"Y-yes!"

"_Bruder_, what do you want to eat after this meeting is over?"

"Um, well... I think a _Käse Fondue_ will be nice..."

...

"This is never near the end..."

"I-I think we better stop this a-at once..."

"Latvia, Lithuania, we just need to be a little careful, though..."

"B-but, I do hope that Mr. Russia won't kill us with his scary iron pipe if we did something without him knowing..."

"LATVIA!"

...

The meeting turned into a chaos.

But of course, as usual, Germany shouted it out so everyone could shut up. But still, the meeting ended with no results AT ALL.

...

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

...

Everyone left the room because the meeting had finished, although nothing worked well. America stayed in the room, as he sorted some piece of papers on his desk. After everyone had seemingly gone home, Canada approached the seemingly-busy nation.

"America. Let's talk about that."

"I still don't think this is a good idea, though..." America turned to Canada.

"You promised this morning!"

"Fine, fine! No need to shout, Canada..."

He put the pile of papers into the drawer, and stood up. He took a deep breath first before explaining it all towards the curious Canada.

...

"So, what kind of nightmare this time?"

"It's about a room."

"A room?"

"It's somehow similar to a classroom. There were tables, chairs, yeah... something like those."

"What happened?"

"I saw someone, at the middle of the room... He was carrying a bloodied axe. Not only that, there were also a lot of corpses on the floor..."

Canada started to gulp. Maybe he didn't like where this story was going.

"And then...?"

"It pretty much ends there. But, I heard a voice saying that the one who killed them is me..."

The Canadian tilted his head. He had a few questions, but of course, he didn't exactly know where to begin.

...

"Can you see the person's face?"

"No can do. It was blurred, and he was turning against my face, so I can't really say who it was."

"But still... you've been having these nightmares lately... What is happening?"

"I don't know. But, I don't really mind it, actually. I mean, what kind of hero am I if I keep on thinking about things like that?"

"Yeah, well. You're probably right... This still bothers me, though."

...

"Canada. Don't say a word to anyone about this, okay?"

"Have I ever? Don't worry. I know that I don't really like your attitude, but I have my limits. You're my brother, and I will help you if there's anything I can do to help."

"Hahaha! Thanks, dude! C'mon, let's go home!"

"America... This land IS my home..."

...

The two nations exited the meeting room when someone, or rather, a figure was eavesdropping their conversations for a while. Maybe that conversation wouldn't become a secret anymore. _"Now this is what you call by interesting event..."_

...

* * *

Author's note:

First of all, I had to delete the previous story because I got another idea that is far better than it. This one is actually a little more logical. But only minor changes in this first chapters. Still, this means I have to redo the next chapter that I had just made...

This is me, RavenExpert. My next fanfiction, which I promised that I'll create after Butlers and Nations has finished. Alright, now I'm getting excited! This is just a prologue, to see if I can really create a tragedy story. Please support this one too! This part is not really gore just yet. Oooh no. You're gonna see MORE gores and bloods in this fanfiction. That's why I rated it T! YOOHOO!

*ahem* Anyway, I had an unexpected free time today. So I can upload this faster. Reviews are appreciated, and I hope you all enjoy this one too!


	2. Next Stage

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 2: Next Stage

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

**_"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED THEM ALL!"_**

...

* * *

Those words were still lingering in America's mind. What did it mean by he's the one who killed the people? He didn't do anything in the first place! Maybe what Canada said was true. Something is wrong with America. These nightmares had become frequent. At first it's just once a month, but lately the nightmares became an everyday event.

He scratched his head as he returned to his house.

However, when he went to the living room, he saw someone that he didn't expect at all.

_"Bonjour, Amérique!"**  
**_

"Geh! France!? What are you doing in my house!?" America stepped backwards in shock.

"C'mon, do I need a reason to visit one of my little brothers?"

"Yeah, but I'm not your little brother..."

America walked past France, who was sitting leisurely on the sofa, which was facing the television. He went to the dining room which was beside the living room. He took a cup and drank some water.

"Don't be so cold on me, _Amérique!_"

"What do you want anyway? The next World Meeting is still months away, right?"

"You can be pretty sharp sometimes." France turned his face towards America, who was sitting on a chair, few distances behind the sofa. "I came here to ask if you're alright."

"Huh?" America was quite confused by that question. "What do you mean? I'm totally fine."

"That's what I thought as well, not until you talked with Canada after that."

America was completely taken aback by that statement. If France said that, then chances are he had listened to their conversation. He wasn't really sure on how to react on this. "...What do you mean again?"

"I was interested on the topic. Besides, I find it pretty rare for the two of you having a serious face. So, I decided to hang out in that hallway a bit."

"So, you heard everything..."

"You need to be a little smarter if you really wanted it to be a secret. Anyway, so I guess that whole nightmare thingy is true, huh?"

America nodded his head slowly. He looked a bit restless. Perhaps he really couldn't evade that question, since France had eavesdropped everything and all.

"Since when this began?"

"I don't really remember..."

France got into his serious face. He looked at America with concerned eyes. He realized that America wasn't really himself at all.

"Care to tell what happened in your dream?"

"It's like a holocaust. A mass murder... And there's this voice telling me that I was the one who killed them all..."

"Does it make you afraid?"

"Well, a bit. But a hero can't be swayed by these little things!" America tried to make himself happier. France sighed a bit before he showed a little smile.

"At least you're still yourself. Just don't get crazy. These kinds of things happened in real life, be it nations or humans." France stood up and patted America's shoulder before he exited the living room.

America stood up as well, and followed France.

"Hey, France!"

Before the latter reached the entrance door, he turned to America, who was calling him.

"Can you... keep this a secret from everyone else?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm still not very sure about those dreams. They are maybe just coincidences after all."

France turned to a silent person for a minute, before he lowered his head a bit.

"Alright. I'll keep it a secret. Just keep yourself running."

"Thanks, dude!"

"Well, then, _au revoir!_"

France exited America's house, while the latter was sighing in relief. He didn't expect that France had been eavesdropping the conversation during that time. It's still noon, so America decided to take care some paper works before going outside to eat.

...

* * *

He went to his usual food court, the M* Dona*d. Of course, it's mostly because he loves the hamburgers in there.

"Hey, Alfred! The usual things?"

"Yup! The cheese burger special!"

The clerk in that restaurant seemed to know America pretty well. However, since nations are not known in public, they are usually called by their human names. Their existences are kept secret.

America took his burgers to a table, and began to wolf down the burgers. When he was busy eating, someone approached him.

"America, you're eating these foods again? You're going to get fat." Canada sighed as he saw his brother started his unhealthy eating habit again.

"Oh, Canada! Hey, and don't call me fat!" America was wolfing down his hamburgers while answering to Canada's statement.

"Finish that stuff in your mouth first!"

He gulped his hamburgers, as Canada sat down in the chair near him. "So, what's up?"

"I just want to know if you're fine with those paper works. A lot of them piling in your office desk."

"Nah, they're just fine! You don't need to worry one bit!"

"How about the nightmares?"

"You still thinking about that? Dude, you need a life!"

"At least you seem okay. Don't come late to the next World Meeting, okay?" Canada sighed before he left America alone.

...

* * *

After America finished his snack, he went back to his house. But, another event scared him up.

**_"Why are you trying so hard to become a hero?"_**

...

This one sentence suddenly stopped America from reaching his entrance door.

_**"Nations are existences unknown to humans. No one will know you, and no one will recognize you."**_

America tried to ignore it and went inside the house. However, no matter how much he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't resist the temptation to fight back.

"Shut up..."

_**"Why should I? This is the true nature of nations. The reason why you reject it is because you don't want to remember. You seal your own past. You neglect yourself."**_

"I said shut up! Don't play weird things on my mind!"

**_"We'll see each other again. It's pretty fun,__ actually."_**

When that dark, sneering voice subsided, America could feel that his burden had been lifted. He decided to leave that conversation behind, and decided to head over to his office desk, where piles of paper works are calling.

...

* * *

As he finally finished, his head suddenly became dizzy all of the sudden. He couldn't see what's in front of him clearly. Everything was blurred. He hanged on to the desk in front of him, as he fell to his knees, clutching his head with his left arm. He was breathing quite hard.

_**"See? This is just a small impact. How can you protect those humans you love dearly if you can't even protect yourself?"**_

"Shut up! Don't say anything again!"

_**"I can say everything and anything I want. You resist too much. Maybe I should show you something else..."**_

"Shut up, shut up!"

_**"Everyday is a nice play for you. You had that happy face all the time, which makes me sick."**_

"What!?"

_**"You had lived your life behind everything. Keeping secret from everyone. Live in the lies of your own reality. And you still call yourself a hero? Don't give me that crap!"**_

America widened his eyes when he heard this statement. He didn't expect to hear something like this.

**_"I take back what I said. This is no fun."_**

...

Once again, the voice disappeared from his head. His sight too seemed to have recovered. He looked around to make sure, and it's true. Indeed his sight had returned. He stood up and exited his bedroom. Even though he had regained control of his mind again, his movements are not. Actually, he still felt dizzy a bit, and he didn't walk properly.

When he reached a sink in his house, he decided to wash his face a bit before taking some rest. Everyday had become a living hell after those nightmares started to scare him. True, he as the hero had to pull it together. But he couldn't just ignore these voices that kept on pressuring him down to bits.

He cleaned his face using a towel, when he went passing the dining room and the kitchen.

"Maybe I should get something to eat."

...

* * *

In Canada's house, he was cleaning after he met America in that restaurant. During that time, someone knocked the front door. He left the cleaning tools and went to answer it. It's a pretty unexpected guest.

"Oh, England! I didn't expect that you'd be coming by."

"Hey, Canada. Are you cleaning the house? It looks so dusty."

"Yes. Lately my boss has given me more paper works, so I rarely come here to clean up..." Canada sighed a bit. He looked exhausted. "By the way, why are you here, England?"

"Oh yeah. It's about this." England handed out a rather large, brown paper-wrapped box. Canada was intrigued, so he received it. But he didn't see the insides.

"What's this?"

"Honestly, I don't really know. It looks like a package sent for that git. It was left in the meeting room."

"Really? I'll give it to him immediately. But, why did you give it to me? You can give it directly to America himself, right?"

"That's what I thought too. But he's not in the house when I went there. Since geographically you're the closest, I figure I should give it to you."

Canada sighed, yet again. "He must be out getting some more junk foods..."

"Anyway, sorry for bothering you. I'll be going now."

"Wait, England! Since you're here, let's go together to America's place."

"Huh? Why should I?"

"Well, to make sure that he didn't do anything weird."

"What do you mean by "anything weird"? I don't like the sound of that."

"Yeah, well... I don't really like going alone..."

"Hmm... Alright then. It's not like I have anything to do anyway."

...

* * *

England and Canada went to America's house to deliver the package. The bear-hugging nation rang the doorbell, when the other one was seen thinking about something.

"Still, would someone like America left something this important at the meeting room?"

"Yeah... But how do you know that this belongs to America, England?"

"I saw that brown box on the table when I went back to the meeting room to take something. I saw the writing "To America" is written on the box, so I naturally think that maybe it's another work given to that idiot."

"Maybe America's boss sent it to the meeting. But he never mention anything about something like this. It is quite large, though... I wonder what's inside... England, you didn't open it?"

"There should be a tear on it if I had opened it. I thought it maybe an important package, so I decided not to look at it."

"Hmm, that's one point."

...

* * *

They waited and waited, but no answer in America's house. The day was getting darker. It seemed that night had started to fall.

"This is going nowhere." England passed though Canada, and tried to pull the doorknob. Interestingly, the door was not locked. Both of them looked each other before they went into the house.

"Excuse me, America! Are you here?"

A few seconds after Canada called out, there's a sound of footsteps going down the stairs. The footsteps sounded as if it was hurrying. When it finally revealed who it is, Canada and England could only sighed.

"Hey, it's you two! Dude, what are you doing here?"

"America! Answer the door when someone press the doorbell! What are you doing!?" Canada became furious.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I was too busy playing with my new video games."

"That's not busy!"

"You git! And here you got me worried over nothing!" England was about to strangle America, but the latter stopped him, while wearing a shocked face.

"What? Wait. Dude. England. You're worrying about me? The world must've split in two!"

"Shut up, you bloody git! I'm just here because Canada wanted me to accompany him! You just left a package in the meeting room!"

"A package?"

"It seems someone deliver it to you. Here." Canada handed the brown package to America. The latter just looked at the box, confused. Why would anyone send him a package? He didn't receive any word about this.

"Thanks dude! I don't know who sent it, though." America brought the package to his bedroom, while Canada and England was about to exit the house.

"Just open it and get to bed quickly." England grumbled and he left, leaving Canada and America in there.

When America was about to go to the second floor, where his bedroom is located, his look-alike stopped him a bit.

...

"Hey, America?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you don't get one of those nightmares again."

"Hahaha! You're worrying too much, dude! Even though I'll dream one, I won't go down easily!"

"Ahaha... Well, just stay healthy."

...so he said and then Canada left the house, when America continued to go to his bedroom, to find out what's inside the package. He had wished it was another pack of hamburgers.

...

* * *

He brought the large package into his room, where he excitedly opened the cover because he was curious on what's inside it.

However, that happiness soon collapsed when he saw another pile of paper works inside the box. He just didn't feel like it, until he read the letter in that box.

* * *

...

_To America,_  
_I'm sorry for adding more paper works for you even though you're pretty busy with the current situation. But this one should be the last, since you probably have finished the other pack. So, to make it up for you, I've sent a little surprise that will make you happy. You should be able to see a smaller package in the box, right? That's the thing. Everything in there is new, so that's a bonus, right? Thanks, and I'm sorry again._

...

* * *

"A smaller package? This one?"

America lifted up a smaller package in that box. When he opened it, his happiness rise up again, when he saw a brand new, pair of handguns in there. The one that America had until now is little bit older model. He was ever so happy to see that his boss gave him a brand new model.

"Hahaha! He's really considerate after all! Alright, what's in here..."

America saw another pack in the box. He opened it too, only to see that it's a pack of new bullets, custom-made. Those are new bullets, and sharp ones at that. He fit all of them in the handguns. However, he grew a little bit confused when he felt that the bullets were warm.

"Huh? It's warm... New bullets in pack should've been cold, right? Did my boss use this bullets first-hand? But if he said that everything in this is new, then the bullets too, should've been new. Maybe I can try contacting him."

...

The uneasiness continued to grow inside America. He contacted his boss to confirm it. However, he only said that maybe the bullets were exchanged by someone during the packaging.

"Boss? Did you use this handguns first-hand?"

_"Huh? No, I don't. Maybe the makers used it for first try."_

"Did they use the same bullets you send to me?"

_"Of course not. Those are new ones. The bullets they used for first try are custom-made. Those are too, right? But the bullets' model are different. However, since those handguns are custom-made as well, it will be fine as long as the bullets are custom-made too."_

"Hmm..."

_"Something wrong, America?"_

"The new bullets you send me? They are warm."

_"Warm?"_

"As if someone had used them earlier."

_"What? But that's not possible! Maybe they made a mistake in the packaging... I'll ask them immediately."_

"Thanks, boss!"

America closed his cellphone. He looked at the handguns curiously. Of course, this is just a trivial matter, but this bugged him too much. It's weird that even he could notice it first-hand, though. He sighed a bit.

* * *

**_"Maybe someone used it to kill someone else..."_**

America was awaken immediately from his daydream.

**_"Hmhm. This is truly interesting... What will you do now?"_**

"Shut up! There are no reasons yet. Maybe someone just switched the guns by accident."

**_"Fine, fine. Think whatever you like."_**

The voice disappeared again. This is getting annoying. The voice kept on appearing and disappearing, discouraging America at the same time. He wanted to forget those words, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it maybe true.

But, the horror came again.

_**"Though... What if YOU'RE the one who used that gun and killed people with it?"**_

"You're still here!? Just get out of my head!"

America clutched his head with his two hands, trying desperately to ignore the voice.

**_"But, those possibilities remain, right? Maybe you just don't realize it. Or, you wanted to for__get it."_**

"What are you talking about!? I would never do something like that!"

The voice sighed.

**_"This is getting nowhere. Maybe I'll just quit for now."_**

America was able to feel that the voice finally disappeared, again. But, that voice might come again to pester him. What should he do now? He sat down on a chair, while looking down. He held his forehead, as he clenched his fist.

...

* * *

Author's note:

This is it, everyone. I can't believe I managed to write this chapter despite the tests I'm going to have! Anyway, this is going to be fun from now on, but the bloody scenes aren't coming just yet. I made the draft of this chapter and the next one during my free time in school. Though, I don't know how this will appeal to you all. Well, please just give me support, until the end!


	3. The Second Nightmare

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 3: The Second Nightmare

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

America's confusion at the time was relieved by a sound of a ringing cellphone. He looked at the screen, and saw that the Caller ID is The President.

_"America? I've asked them."_

"What did they say?"

_"There was no one using those handguns using those bullets... They used another bullet when trying it for experiment."_

"So, there's someone else who used these handguns?

_"That's possible. But we don't know who..."_

America was creeping out a bit. But then, he tried to calm himself down before talking again.

"It's okay, Boss. At least they didn't do a damage for the guns. They're still new models, right!? I'm excited!"

_"Sorry about this, America. But, I'll leave the rest to you."_

The connection was soon cut off.

...

* * *

America stared at the cellphone with uneasy face. He stuffed it into his pocket and looked at the window outside. It was dark, so it appeared that night had come. Of course he didn't feel like going to bed already, not with those nightmares kept haunting him down. However, if he didn't go to sleep, then he wouldn't be on good condition tomorrow. Even though he's a nation, it's still vital for him to have some rest.

...

* * *

...

_America once again landed on a dark place. He looked around for a bit, and he sighed as a sign of relief, for he knew that the voice wasn't here. He sat down, and seemingly rather relieved. Now he just had to wait until the dream's over._

_But, the nightmare didn't go down that easily._

_After a few seconds of peace, he suddenly heard a sound of gunshot._

_What surprised him more, was that the gunshot was followed by the screams of despair and fear._

_He quickly stood up. The screams kept on going._

_"No! Don't come here!"_

_"Help! Help me!"_

_"D-don't come near me, you murderer!"_

_"Daddy... Mommy... Where are you...?"_

_"Please save me! Anyone!"_

_..._

_Every scream was stopped by the gunshot. America closed his ears because he didn't want to hear this. Not at all._

_He slowly stepped aback, when he accidentally stepped on a liquid. When he looked down, it was a pool of blood._

_"No... NO! What is this!?"_

_..._

_Right after that, America saw someone was pointing a gun towards a person. He knew this is his chance to be a hero and saved that person. He quickly ran towards the shooter, and grabbed his right arm, which was holding the gun._

_"Stop it! What do you think you're doing!? Shooting innocent people!?"_

**_"Hmm? Why did you stop me?"_**

_"If you ask why... it's because what you're doing is wrong!"_

**_"Wrong? This comes from someone who had killed numerous of people? What a laughing matter."_**

_"Wha-! What are you talking about!? I would never do that!"_

**_"You just forgot about it."_**

_The person shoved his arm off America's grab. Since the place was dark, he could see clearly who it was. However, after that someone lifted his head, turning towards America, the latter was shocked to no other._

_That "someone", had the exact same face as his._

_..._

_"Wha-!? Why-! You...!?"_

_America was too shocked, he was speechless. His doppelganger pointed his gun away from his previous target, and now he turned it towards the shocked nation._

**_"Why must you be shocked? Is it really a surprise?"_**

_"What do you mean by that!? Of course I'm surprised!"_

**_"So, why should you be? This is your own face... Why are you surprised by your own face...?"_**

_"That's what makes me surprised!"_

**_"Oh, so you're surprised because I, who are the same as you, was killing these innocent people...?"_**

_"Shut up! You're not the same as me! You're just a murderer!"_

**_"And you are too. I've told you right? You wanted to forget. You wanted to seal those things deeply into yourself."_**

_"Shut up!"_

_**"Let me tell you something interesting: You... no. Not just you. Everyone... every nation... You are all monsters!"**_

_This sentence stopped America from clutching his head._

**_"You live among humans, yet they do not know you... You are an existence that does not exist! You live longer than humans... partially immortal... Any monster will fit that description!"_**

_"Stop calling us monsters! You don't even know a thing... You're the one who should stop!"_

**_"How about I prove it, here and now? That you're monsters? You, who don't even understand the meaning of life..."_**

_After he said that, he pulled the gun's trigger._

...

* * *

...

...

Canada was still in his house, preparing a few papers to bring for the next meeting.

"I think this is about all of it... Kumakichi, I'm going to a market to buy some food. What would you like?" He turned to the white polar bear which was sitting on a sofa, as he put on his usual jacket.

"Who're you?" The polar bear innocently answered the question.

"I'm Canada!"

"Oh. Well, anything's fine with me. Just be careful. I wanna stay home."

"Okay then."

Canada took his cellphone and head to the entrance door. When he opened it, he saw a brown box behind it. It was similar with the package that he delivered to America earlier today. There's a sentence: "To Canada", written on the cover, along with the address. He decided to take it inside because he's curious on what's in it.

He put it on the table in his room, and tore open the brown cover. Inside it, was another box. He opened that box, and he was confused, also surprised to see a few bullets in it.

The bullets weren't normal. Even normal human would know.

They were soaked in blood.

Canada, wearing a face of disbelief, tried to regain his composure before he picked up the bullets and wanted to see whether the blood were real or not. However, his horror was not a joke.

The blood is real. Nothing more, nothing less.

It had dried a bit, but it's still wet on few parts.

_"What is this!? Some kind of... threat? But, why send it to me? Have I done something wrong...?"_

...

Numbers of questions started to swirl in the nation's mind. He had never thought that he would have an enemy. If he was America, then it would be a totally different story. But, he's who he is. Why would someone send him a threat?

On a second thought, he was thinking of telling this to America, but he wouldn't be much help. Also, it's already night. His look-alike must've been sleeping right now.

Not to tell the European countries. They're in the middle of dawn right about now, and everyone must be sleeping too.

Finally, he decided to call Japan. He's an Asian country, which is probably hitting the evening right now. He quickly took his cellphone and called him.

* * *

...

"_Moshi moshi, kochira wa Nihon desu._"

"Ah, Japan! It's me, Canada!"

_"Oh, Canada-san? It's been a while. What kind of business do you have with me?"_

"I wanted to tell you something. It's, well..."

_"Ochitsuki-nasai. I will listen to it."_

Canada took the deep breath before explaining what happened to him.

...

_"I see... so someone sent you those bullets?"_

"Yeah, I thought they were some kind of threat..."

_"But, why would someone threaten you, Canada-san? It's not like you have done something wrong..."_

"That's what I thought too..."

"Do you have any person in mind?"

"Hmm... I can only think of Switzerland or America when I'm thinking about bullets... Since only those two who use guns in a real one-on-one combat."

_"Though, I think Switzerland-san is negative. I mean, he is a neutral country. If he sent something like this, then it could mean a declaration of war."_

"Maybe so... But America is negative too. If he wanted to send me this only to scare me, then he would've gone on full-scale. Like he did with England some time ago..." *)

_"England-san were not afraid one bit, though."_

"True, true..."

_"Hmm... How about asking your boss to send a forensic team? They might be able to detect the blood on the bullets. With that, maybe we will have one or two clues about the one who sent it, or someone who's shot."_

"Yeah, you're right! Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

_"It's common, I think."_

"Thank you, Japan! Oh, and please don't tell anyone about this. I don't want anyone to be worrying about something like this."

_"Do not worry. I won't tell anyone. I'm happy to help. Well then, Canada-san. Please be careful."_

"You too. Thanks again!"

The connection was cut off and Canada felt slightly relieved after hearing what Japan said.

Following Japan's advice, he decided to call his boss, despite being at night. Surprisingly, his boss agreed and he said that the forensic team will come in 2 hours.

After that call, Canada was getting nervous about the owner of the bloods.

...

* * *

...

America immediately awakened after the gunshot. He awoke abruptly, breathing hard, and was sweating a lot. He had eyes of fear on his face. The nightmares didn't go away. They kept on coming.

After he calmed down, he got off the bed and took his usual trademark leather jacket. He wore his military uniform as usual.

As he finished putting it, he stared at the new handgun which his boss gave him yesterday. He took it, and looked inside the handgun. The bullets were set.

_"We're... monsters...?"_

...

For a second there, America's eyes looked as if they were abnormal.

As if they were being controlled.

As if they were not his own.

As if they were... lifeless.

...

_"Two or three... won't hurt, I think..."_

...

* * *

...

Around the same time, Canada got a phone from his boss. He was nervous, yet curious at the same time. After trying to calm himself down, he answered it.

"This is Canada."

"I've received the results of the forensic test. I told them to check about the Personifications as well, just to be safe."

"Huh? But, will it be okay? I mean, Personifications are supposed to stay a secret."

"The forensic team that I called are our special agents. They are connected with our politics, and will only take a step only when they're doing international investigations. They won't reject if I'm the one to call."

"I see... Okay, so what is the result."

"First of all, the blood wasn't belonged to any of the citizens in our country."

"Then, it's from other countries?"

"Umm... Maybe no."

"Uh.. What do you mean, sir?"

"Listen here, Canada. I didn't mean to break the news but... The one who owned that blood? Is a Personification."

"What!? A Personification? But, that shouldn't be!"

"I know. And, it's someone you know pret-ty well."

Canada gulped down. He was getting even more nervous. When his boss revealed the owner of that blood, he was shocked like no other. His face turned pale.

After a silence broke out, the only thing that Canada's boss heard was a sound of cut-off connection.

...

* * *

...

Using an airplane, Canada hurriedly to America's house. He definitely was worried like no one else. At the entrance of America's house, he tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. He quickly tried to find a way to get in. He went around the house, and luckily, he could find a back door, and thus walked into the house from it.

He quickly went to the second floor, where America's room is located. He immediately banged the door when he reached it.

"America! Please open the door!"

However, there was no answer.

Canada was getting even more scared when he smelled a tough scent. It was a smell of an iron. Not a physical iron, but an Iron.

He was frustrated, then he decided to burst his way through by pushing through the door. He tried that twice or thrice, and finally, he managed to get inside, although abruptly.

"America! Where are you!?"

...

He looked around, then his face became paler than before.

He saw a trace of blood all over the floor.

He saw someone was sitting, and leaning against the wall.

Canada approached him slowly.

He was very shocked to see something unbelievable.

...

America was sitting there, soaked in blood, with holes in his stomach, chest, and his two arms.

...

* * *

Author's note:

Looks like America fangirls started to glare at me... ;A;

*ahem* Don't worry about him though.

But, maybe it looks like I hate him so much... Each of my fanfics have America injured, and many more.

NONONONO! I DON'T HATE AMERICA! I LUV HIM!

Anyway, this is chapter 3.

There's a lot of people who favored this fanfic o.O...

Well, still, this one isn't as popular as Butlers and Nations... . I'm having a hard time these days, since I'm confused of fusing my two ideas into one story. I don't have much to say, so...

Oh, sorry to tell something. Well, maybe I don't really need to explain these, but I'll do it anyway:  
- _Moshi moshi, kochira wa Nihon desu_- Hello, this is Japan

- _Ochitsuki-nasai_- Please calm down.

*) It's about time I explain this. This is reference to a Drama CD called Hetalia x Goodnight with Sheep Vol. 8: America and England.  
America tried to scare England in Halloween by dressing as a Frankenstein, but England isn't scared one bit. Instead, he scared him instead :DDDDD I laughed so hard in this Drama CD.

Please enjoy this chapter! and please review as well!


	4. Realistic Impact

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 4: Realistic Impact

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

America was sitting, leaning against a wall, with blood all over his body. Even though Canada was very confused at that second, he still tried to muster up his courage and reach out to the wounded nation.

"America! Wake up! What happened!?"

...

Slowly, but surely, America was opening his eyes even though just for a little bit. When he opened his mouth a bit, Canada could immediately see that his mouth is also full of blood. He coughed it up for a bit.

"Ca...nada... huh...?"

"America! Hang on, I'm gonna call someone else! Maybe Japan can-"

"No... Don't call... anyone..."

"What do you mean!? Even though we're nations, but you still need to be treated! Who shot you!?"

"It's... well..."

Before he continued, he coughed up another blood, staining some part of Canada's jacket. However, the brother didn't mind. He was worried about his brother even more right now.

"Wait here! I'm going to get some first aids!"

Canada briskly left the room, very hurriedly. America only looked at his brother with half-asleep eyes, and his head tilted to the right a bit. Blood came out from his mouth as well. There were no doctors for Personifications, so this was actually a bad news.

Silently, America muttered a few words.

_"I'm sorry, Canada..."_

...

* * *

In the hall, when Canada was about to take a medicine kit, he looked at his cellphone for a second. Then he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, unsure on what he should do.

_"America... I'm sorry, but... I really can't do this alone..."_

...

When he was about to dial a few numbers, suddenly his cellphone rang up. He looked at the screen, and then he put up a face of disbelief. The Caller ID was stated as "France". Despite his trembling hands, he decided to answer that call.

"Um... H-hello?"

_"Hey, there, Canada! I just wanted to tell you something."_

"Y-yeah?"

_"That Krautz said that the next World Meeting will be postponed for a few months, since most of the countries are pretty busy. He'll tell us when the time has been decided. Can you pass the message to Amérique too? I tried to call his cellphone, but he didn't answer. So, I thought maybe he's still sleeping."_

"Oh, yes... I'll do that..."

Strangely enough, silence brewed between the conversation right after Canada said that sentence.

On the other side of the phone, France was sipping his wine, as he held his cellphone. After he put the wine glass, he stared at his cellphone intently, while thinking about something. Then, he continued his talk.

_"...Canada? Something wrong?"_

"N-no! There's nothing wrong!"

_"There must be. Your voice is trembling."_

Canada was thrown aback by this statement. He tried so hard to cover it up, but France could tell it immediately.

...

"...I guess it's hard to deceive you, huh...?"

_"I had taken care of you for so long. Isn't it obvious that I know, non? But really, what's going on? Is this related with why __Amérique_ didn't answer my phone?"

"Actually... yeah."

_"...About his nightmares?"_

This time, Canada was shocked. He answered back nervously.

"H-how did you..!"

_"How did I know? I heard your conversation with him. I know eavesdropping is not good, but this nightmare thingy seems to be a serious case, huh?"_

"Y-yes..."

He was unsure on what to reply. After he gritted his teeth, and had that determined look on his eyes, he finally decided on something.

"France, can you come to America's place immediately? Europe is around noon right now, isn't it? Can you make it?"

...

France wasn't convinced by this question, but if something makes Canada's voice tremble like this, then something must've happened. It's probably in his best interest to start worrying.

_"Hmm, I'm gonna try to find a plane as soon as I can. Just explain everything after I arrived, okay?"_

"Thank you, France!"

...

* * *

While waiting for France to come, Canada applied few aids to America's wounds. He was really confused because America's self-regeneration didn't heal well. It progressed really slow. Even slower than normal. If humans injured a nation, their wounds will heal quickly. However, this time the wounds healed really slow. He wanted to ask his look-alike, but the latter was not in condition to do so.

...

After he rested the injured nation on the bed, the expected person finally arrived.

"Ah! Finally you've arrived, France!"

"Of course! This is important too, _non_?"

France went into the house, while talking to Canada about America's condition.

"So, how is he?"

"I rested him in the bed for now, but I can't help that something's weird..."

"Weird?"

"The self-regeneration process is very slow..."

"Slow? But that shouldn't be."

"I know, right?"

As the conversation finished, Canada opened the door to the bedroom, where they saw that America was sitting on the bed, with bandages all over his body, with a few on the face.

"France? What are you doing here?"

"Come now. Should Big Brother France be worried to someone who was one of his allies in World War 2?"

"There's that, but that doesn't back up the reason of WHY you should be here."

Canada was fidgeting. He lowered his head because he didn't want to look at America in the eyes. The latter just looked at him while tilting his head. After he mustered up some courage, finally, he was able to tell him.

"I-I'm... sorry, America... I know that you don't want anyone to come here, but I really can't do this alone..."

Hearing this, America turned away from Canada's face, sighing a bit before he looked at his look-alike again.

"...I expected as much. But, France already knows my nightmares, so I guess it won't be a problem..."

When the two brothers got into a silent treatment, France looked around the room to see what exactly happened. His eyes were fixed to a great stain of blood on the wall and the floor. Seeing this, he could immediately guess that this was the place where America got shot.

At the left side of that stain of blood (from France's perspective), there's a handgun. It had blood too on it. France took a handkerchief and used it to lift the gun. Canada was curious as to what France was doing.

"What are you doing, France?"

"There's a handgun near the place where you got shot, America." He stood up and showed that gun to both of the brothers.

"Um, France? Isn't that to be expected? I mean, someone did shoot America right?"

"It's not quite right, Canada. If someone shot him, why would that person take up the trouble to leave this gun behind?"

"To leave some evidence? Sometimes murderers do leave a weapon behind, right? To divert the attention..."

"Canada, how was this room's condition when this happened?"

"The door was locked, and the windows were closed too. Even the entrance door was locked. So, I came in through the back door."

"The room keys were stuck on the door, so..."

Canada looked at France intently. "It couldn't be... the culprit was trying to make a closed room murder?"

The latter didn't say a thing, while America just kept on shutting his mouth.

"The gun were placed just a few centimeters away from the blood though. Why would the culprit put the gun that way? If he was trying to make us believe that America had shot himself, then he would've arranged the gun in America's hand. It will be more convincing that way."

"Now that you mention it..."

America gritted his teeth. France walked towards his bed, having a serious face on it, something that Canada didn't expect at all.

"___Amérique_, now be honest with us. Who shot you?"

He had an unusual shocked face with him. At first, Canada wasn't convinced, but after a few seconds of thinking, he had a premonition.

"America...? Don't tell me you...!"

"Sorry, Canada..."

"So, you don't lie after all..."

The injured nation looked away from the two curly haired nations.

...

_America... You shot yourself...?_

...

* * *

...

"But I don't get it! Why did you do that for!?"

"Dude, easy... I said that I'm sorry!"

"Sorry didn't cut it!"

"Is this related to the nightmares?"

"You know... I know that you already aware of my nightmares, but I didn't expect for you to be this sharp, France."

"Sometimes, big brother has to be serious, right~?"

"Haha... Anyway, it's true. Those nightmares went too far, I guess..."

"This is way too far, America!"

"Come now, ___Amérique_. Aren't you supposed to be a self-proclaimed hero? Why did you just give up on that nightmare?"

America froze a bit on this question. Of course, France had a point in that. But it's not like he was...

...

"...Maybe you're right..." He muttered a few words. Canada was really confused by this reply. Unusually, America just stayed shut and agreed with France's statement. Being a hero has always been his dream and that's what he's aiming for in his entire life. But now he agreed to a statement which clearly doubted his ideal? What's happening here?

"America... Are you sure you're alright?" He began to doubt his brother's attitude.

"I'm fine... You're worrying too much." America tried to calm Canada down.

"If it's possible, ___Amérique_, I want to know the condition when you shot yourself."

"I'm... not really sure myself. I remember waking up and dressing as usual... But, my memories are a blur after that. When I finally realized it, blood was everywhere around me, and I can't move."

Hearing this, another question came up to Canada's mind. "Wait a sec... Then how do you know that you're the one who shot yourself?"

"Although it's a blur, I still can feel it... I held that gun towards myself before completely lose my consciousness."

* * *

...

After a moment of silence, France flipped his finger, as if getting an idea. "Oh yeah. Since I'm here, might as well told you. The next World Meeting will be suspended for a while, since the other countries are busy. Germany will tell us the time after everything has calmed down."

"That's all? Thanks France!"

"Nah, don't mention it. But still, ___Amérique_... Don't let those puny nightmares to affect you. Those aren't real. They're just imaginations that happens from time to time. You need to let someone else know about this."

"The three of you is enough for me." America gave a small, simple smile. Seeing this, France let of a small sigh, as he smiled a bit, seemingly relieved.

"Well then, the _Tres Bien Moi_ must go now! I have a little appointment with my President!"

"Ah, I'll escort you!"

France and Canada soon went towards the door in the room. But, before French opened the door, he turned to the American, who was still sitting on his bed. "Just stay well, alright?"

The latter gave a little sigh and a smile.

...

* * *

When they reached the entrance door, France continued to talk with Canada. He again, had a serious expression on his face.

"I guess the nightmares really went too far..."

"So, you think so too?"

"Those aren't just puny nightmares... If they could affect ___Amérique_ until this far, then it must be a really traumatic nightmare..."

"But what should we do? Should we investigate about the nightmares?"

"Even if we want to, we don't have enough information about it. When did the nightmares start?"

"I heard it was about a few months ago... It was just once or twice per month at first, but now it has become a daily event..."

"Then, maybe something had happened in that "a few months ago". Do you have anything in mind?"

"I don't think so..."

"Hmm... Well, just take care of him. You're his brother, so I think you can do it."

"I know. Thanks for coming, France."

"No problem. He needs help after all."

After that conversation, France soon went out and left the North American brothers.

* * *

...

America was still left in the bed, sighing towards himself, and looking at the bandages he had on his wounds. As he looked so down, someone, or rather, _something_... interrupted him in a uncool time.

**_"You do have fine comrades as well, huh?"_**

"You again..."

**_"They still cover up for you. I must say, I'm quite impressed."_**

"Is that so? Well then, congrats."

**_"But you still don't. You're still too soft. Now, see what I mean? All of you are monsters after all."_**

"You don't even know anything about us nations. Shut your trap!" America covered his own face using his right palm. He covered it, only leaving his eyes to see though.

_**"Too bad, but I do know. You are an existence that is bound to your people's lives. You can't reject any of them since they are part of you, and you are part of them. You hear their wishes and pleads, and thus you fulfill them. However..."**_

"...What?"

**_"Humans are fragile, aren't they? And no one really cares about their Personifications either. You are not known by the humans, and yet you are bound to them. Because nations can't die, people had done terrible things, just to satisfy their stupid hunger."_**

"...Even so, I have to protect my land. It is my duty as a Personification, and as a hero."

**_"You still use that "h" word? Cut it out already. You're not a hero. You're never a hero. Because you already stained your hands with blood..."_**

After that word was spoken, the voice disappeared. America's hard breathing stopped, and he put away his hand from his face. He showed a little smile. But it's not his usual happy smile. It was a smile as if he's ready to kill someone.

It was a face of a cold-blooded murderer.

...

* * *

Author's note:

And that's it. Might be a little bit longer than I expected, though. Because my school is having a great annual event, so I have a lots of free time in these 10 days. America seems to be acting weird here. Just wait and see what happens next. Chapter 4 done, and the next chapter might be a little bit longer. Hope I did better in this one.

Thank you for ALL the people who reviewed and favored this chapter. You don't know how much you made my day :D. As usual, please read and review!


	5. Unintended Holocaust

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 5: Unintended Holocaust

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

Canada returned to America's room to see if he's alright. When he went in, he saw the injured nation was lying on the bed with crossed arms behind his head. As he realized that Canada was inside his room, he quickly had a question in mind.

"By the way, Canada. What brings you here?"

"Actually, it's nothing... But a package was sent to my house."

"Package?" America got back into his sitting position.

"It was a brown box with bullets."

"Bullets?"

"Bloodied bullets. At first I thought it was a threat. I called Japan, asking for an advice, and he said that maybe sending a forensic team to check that blood will be a good idea. Of course I agreed to it." America was listening to Canada's story intently. "My boss called me, and he said that the blood came from a Personification..."

"So the blood on the bullets belongs to me..."

"Right... I honestly don't know what to do during that time... I figure that something might have happened to you, so I hurriedly went over here." Canada looked down.

"And then you found me covered in blood..."

"I wouldn't say "covered". I'd say it's "bathed"."

America chuckled a bit. "I guess it's true."

The awkward moment between the two brothers continued. America, with bandages all over his body, looked so down and sad, while Canada was looking so confused. Both of them didn't know what to say to each other. All Canada could think right now, was how to get rid of those nightmares that had been bothering his brother. Thanks to them, America almost tried to commit suicide. Even though he wanted to state his point, but when he saw his brother's condition, he knew that it would only add more fuel to the fire.

He sighed before talking again.

"America, I'm going back to my house again. Please be more careful next time, okay?"

"Alright, I hear you."

"You have to learn how to ignore those nightmares. They're just nuisance to us."

Canada turned his back and was about to open the door when America stopped him by asking a question: "Hey, Canada? Do you think it's weird for us, nations, who are different from humans to have such dreams...?"

"Why do you ask? I don't think it's weird. It's true that we're not humans... Well, no. We're PART humans. But, dreams are unique, don't you think? They make us see everything in our imagination and our mind. Sometimes even things we despise and we love."

"Despise and love...huh?"

"It happens to all of us. Even animals dream too, right? Like cat and such. What's so different about nations?"

"I guess you're right... Well! Sorry for asking such a weird question."

"I think it's a pretty normal question, though. Well then, see you later, America!"

Canada exited the room, and walked towards the entrance door. America was left alone, with such sad expression on his face. Unexpectedly, a small tear came out from his eyes. He was quite shocked by this, and quickly wiped them out. "Whoa, hey! Why am I crying? There's nothing to be sad of!"

After he calmed down, he lied himself on the bed again, feeling a little bit sleepy, although it was getting noon. Even though it was supposed to be lunch already, but strangely, America didn't feel any hunger. He didn't feel like doing anything. He just wanted to close his eyes.

He himself couldn't accept the fact that he almost tried to kill himself. Why would he do that? Why would he try to commit suicide? Was his life not good enough?

As flurry of confusions and thinking were fluttering around his head, he slowly went to sleep without he even noticed it.

* * *

...

_This time, America awoke in a grassland. It was really beautiful. He opened his eyes and sat down on the grasses. He touched them using his hands, trying to make sure that this was really the place he woke up to. When he did that, he could feel a nostalgic warmth in that place. He showed a peaceful smile._

_A few seconds later, he saw someone was walking towards a young boy. The boy looked so happy. He ran towards the youth excitedly as he called his name._

_"England!"_

_America was thrown aback a bit by this._

_When he took a look at the youth who was approaching the boy, he was surprised._

_"There you are, America." The boy ran into his hands and hugged him. "Let's go home..."_

* * *

...

_However, America didn't manage to see it through to the end, because the lovely event was changed into another place, as if he was transported. He covered his eyes with his arms, and when he returned his sight again, he was back into the dark place again. He sighed because he couldn't see through to the end. And that's when the horror came back to him._

_**"So, you're here again..."** The voice was snickering behind his back. However, even though he was curious, he didn't turn back to look at the dark voice. **"Feeling nostalgic already? Yes, you understand now, right? You're the one who killed a lot of people, and the one who betrayed the person who raised you..."**_

_"Just who the heck did I kill anyway? I don't remember doing that." America gritted his teeth._

**_"It was someone very close to you. I'm surprised that he didn't even harbor hard feelings for that. You don't remember because you seal it away yourself. Because you wanted to forget."_**

_"Enough about that! Tell me everything!"_

_**"Find about it yourself. A "hero" like you should've had known... right...? "America"?"** The voice was sneering behind his back, giving the latter a chill running down his spine._

_Although the voice disappeared after that happened._

* * *

...

_The dark place changed into another scenery. When America opened his eyes, he noticed that he had landed into a town. It was an old town, actually. People were passing here and there. After a few looks, America understood one thing: It was an old town in Japan._

_The citizens in there were still wearing kimonos and yukatas. They still used traditional style houses and clothes. It seemed that he couldn't touch the people, and the people in there couldn't see him. However, he still could touch the things in that place, like doors, windows, tables, everything except humans._

_He wandered around aimlessly, trying to find a clue as to where he was right at this moment. After he passed few houses, he could feel that he stepped on something. He looked down, and it was a newspaper. From the looks of it, he was pretty sure that it's still new._

_He picked it up, and took a look at the date. Since he visited Japan often, he was able to read some of Japanese words. However, when he read the date, he was shocked like no other._

_As the winds were blowing, he fell onto the ground and clutched his head, as if trying so hard to reject something. He was shaking and trembling. The winds revealed the newspaper's date:_

_6 August 1945._

...

_"What's this feeling!? What is this pain!? What the heck happened!? I felt that... I had to remember this!"_

_Mixture of emotions and memories were flowing in America's mind. Flashes of memories flowed into his mind bit by bit._

_"1945... World War II..? But... What did I forget...?"_

...

_When he was still thinking hard, he saw a giant shadow on the ground. It was shaped like a plane. Even though his memories were jumbled at the time, but he decided to look up, to see the plane._

_It was far in the sky, but America could see the color. It was a dark green jet airplane. People in the town looked up too._

_A few seconds later, the plane seemingly was dropping something. It shaped like a torpedo, but not really a torpedo. It looked like... a bomb._

_After this was launched, America's face went shocked. His eyes were widened and he muttered few words: "No... stop... please..."_

_America could see a few words on the airplane's body. And seeing it gave him even more horrors._

_It was written: Enola Gay._

...

_However, it was too late. The bomb reached the ground, without he even did anything. Like a fast approach and a thunderbolt, the bomb soon released a giant explosion in that town. The winds created as the impact from the explosion destroyed the whole houses and even people. Because he was not even there to begin with, the bomb didn't land even one impact on America. However, the scene in there was far too realistic to be ignored._

_When he looked up, he saw a giant mushroom cloud in the sky._

_And when he looked at the ground, the town was destroyed. The people in there was not even human anymore. Their bodies were not even humans anymore. One thing could make this happened. A nuclear radiation._

_America stood there in horror. He widened his eyes, seeing the numerous of corpses on the ground, unmoving, dead._

_His lips were trembling, and he couldn't say any right word._

_"A...ah... Wh-what... is this...?" He fell onto his knees, with his hands covering his face, excluding the eyes._

_"No.. this.. can't be happening..!" He tried to grasp what happened, but his mind was too foggy to even comprehend._

_In the next second, the nightmare where he saw someone killed people in a room inhumanely, flashed in front of him, as if reminding him._

_After that moment, America looked into the sky and screamed loudly in despair, in the middle of the corpses, as if trying to ask for forgiveness._

_But who will?_

...

**_"Now see here, America? You understand now? Yes. You're the one who killed them. Everyone. You do know how many had lost during this event, right? How do you feel about it?"_**

...

* * *

Author's note:

Okay, first history lesson.

I'm sure that you all must've learned this in school. But, it's not a biggie for me to explain it again, no?"

**Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.**

First of all, I'm sorry if this event brings bad memories to Japanese people. That's right. As far as I learned it in by myself (my school didn't teach World History, including WWII. Only a part of it), US was provoked into the war because Japan bombed the Pearl Harbor. When WWII was still on, my country (Indonesia) was still under Japan's rule. The war ended because US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 6th and 9th August 1945. I remember this one really well because this subject is repeated over and over again in my school. The cause of the atomic bomb was so large, until Einstein, the creator of the formula, regretted that he had sent a letter about that atomic bomb to President Roosevelt. But the war ended anyway :') Look it up at Google if you need any help.

I think that's all I can give you. I like history, but I'm not too fond of it because I can't study them no matter how hard I did. I read about Hiroshima's bombing in a historical fiction novel once, and I was so touched by it. It was so sad.

First time I added a history to my story. Please read and review. I wait for your good response!

Oh, and sorry for the history mistakes if I made one. Please PM me or review it immediately so I can fix it!


	6. Broken Reflection

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 6: Broken Reflection

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

_**"So, how do you feel about it? Frustrated? Happy? Or perhaps, guilty?"** The dark voice started to sneer behind America's back again. However, the latter was too shock to respond back. Even though the scenery had changed back into the same pitch black place, he still hadn't recovered back. **"Isn't this nice, America? You try to become a hero despite the bad things you had done? Now do you want to recover your sealed memories?"**_

_Even though his lips were still trembling, he still could muster up his courage to fight back. "Leave... me alone..."_

_**"Still such a stubborn head... Oh well. You'll give up eventually. Don't ever think that you can run from the past."** The sneering voice disappeared and leaving America behind with his not-so-good mental condition._

...

* * *

In the real world, the day was getting darker. Once again, America awoke from his sleep abruptly. He quickly went into his sitting position as he looked around and sighed a bit.

He felt that someone was holding his left hand. When he turned to it, he saw Canada was sleeping beside his bed, holding his hand, while kneeling on the floor. America was a little shocked to see this, and was even more shocked to see another person opened the door to his room. It was someone pretty much expected though.

"So, you're awake already?" France opened the door.

"France? You're still here? I thought you had gone home already." America was a little bit confused.

"It's not quite the right question, actually. You're the one who slept too much." France walked into the room a bit.

"Huh?"

"It's six in the evening." He sat down on a chair in that room.

There was a few seconds of silence before America started up.

"Six in the... Wait. WHAT!?" America quickly showed a face of shock.

"As you think, six in the evening." France had a poker face on him.

"I slept for over 6 hours!?"

"That's actually normal." France sighed a bit. "Did you have a really bad nightmare? Canada told me that he found you were sweating and panting pretty hard. You're not waking up, and you look like a sick person."

"...Really?" America asked France with a worried face. He was worried not only about himself, but also about the two of them.

"Well, according to him too, he said that you muttered few words..." France held his chin as if he was thinking.

"...What words?" Although reluctant, but America's sense of curiosity just couldn't help it.

"Something along the lines of, "Someone... get me out of here..."... Like that?" France shrugged.

Hearing this, America quickly turned his face away from France. The latter let out a small sigh before standing up. "Listen here, _Amérique_. You can't let anyone be worried about you just because of this thing. You do realize that none of us countries are alone, right? Canada has always gotten your back. Even that tea-sucking bastard worried too."

"Huh? You told England about this?"

"Nope. But if he knew, then I know he'll be really worried. It's true that he had a foul mouth, and acted like a so-called gentleman even though he's a former hoodlum. But, he can never forget about you, _Amérique_. The one who changed his life."

"Me? Changed England's life? How nuts can you get, France?"

"Unlike the other colonies he had, you're the only one he treasured the most. You should know that if England hadn't founded you, then he would've stayed as a pirate, and you would become Spain's or Portugal's colony."

"I wouldn't become what I am now, if it's not because of him... huh?" America sighed a bit. "That's a nice way putting it."

France gave a smile towards America. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back to Canada's house. He promised me that he'll let me visit Vancouver, after all!" He quickly went back to the room's door.

"Ah..haha... Anyway, sorry for making you worry." Hearing this, France turned to America's face with a small smile on his face. "You should tell that phrase to Canada, not me. Well, then. _Au revoir_~!"

...

* * *

As soon as France left the house, America looked at the sleeping Canada and he smiled a bit, after he released his hand from Canada's grip. Then he got off the bed from the other side, so his brother wouldn't be awakened. However, the brother awoke when America opened the door.

"Hmm...? America...?" He rubbed his eyes a bit.

"Oh, uh... Good, evening?" America was kind of nervous what to say, since it was awkward.

Canada turned to America, who was in front of the bedroom's door. He blinked once of twice before making any move.

"Uh, you see... Well, sorry to wake you up, and uh, thanks for-"

Before he continued his sentence, he could feel a warmth blanketing his body. When he realized it, he saw that Canada was hugging him.

"What!? Canada!?" America was fidgeting.

"You made me worried sick, you idiot!" Canada said it in a rather angry tone, but with also a worried tone.

"Huh? Dude, you started to sound like England!" He was fidgeting even more.

Then, Canada immediately released his hug, and looked at America with concerned eyes as he distanced himself a bit from him. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. Thanks for worrying about me." America scratched his head, and was a little bit nervous because he couldn't really find the right word.

Canada sighed a bit. "Really... I was worried... What kind of nightmare is this time?"

"Well... It kind of reminds me of unwanted memories..." America sat down on a chair, looking down a bit.

"Unwanted memories?" Canada approached his brother, with a face full of curiosity. "What kind of memories?"

America looked so distance. He didn't seem to be in his top condition. That's to be expected. He just experienced an not-so-good dream after all. And this night he had to experience the nightmares again too. Seeing this, Canada knew that more questions would only make America even more inconvenienced. "Alright. I won't ask anything more."

Canada took his belongings and prepared to go home. "I'm going back to my house for now. I hope that you'll be okay for the rest of the night, America."

The latter replied with a sad tone. "Thanks, brother..."

In order to ease America's pain, Canada smiled a bit before he left the house, leaving America alone in that house. He stood up and exited the room, going to the bathroom, and looked at a pretty large mirror on the wall.

He could only see a reflection of himself in the mirror, but somehow he was pissed off seeing it. He grabbed the ends of the bathroom sink, and lowered his head, seemingly sad and angry at the same time. He gritted his teeth so hard until it hit the lips, made it bleeding a bit. After he calmed down by taking a deep breath, numerous of thoughts were fluttering in his mind.

_"Do I... really want to forget those events? Is that really why I didn't remember anything? Because I wanted to forget...?"_

Then, as the silence brewed, his so-called "friend" came by.

_**"Yes. You notice it now, right? You wanted to forget your own past, and sealed them away. Do you think that becoming a hero is as easy as pie? As everyone said, you can only move forward, only by reflecting on the past. So, do you want to unseal those memories...?" **_The dark voice came snickering on him again.

_"You again... Shut up and leave me alone..."_

**_"You're so stubborn... Although, no matter how much you try to recover them, it won't change the fact that you are a murderer. Be it in the past, present, or future. Your sins won't be forgiven so easily..."_**

The voice disappeared. As it disappeared, America lifted his head and looked at the mirror. He gritted his teeth again, and then unleashed a punch using his right hand on the mirror, breaking it to pieces. His right hand was injured as well in the process. Few pieces of glasses pierced America's right hand, cutting it and making it bleeding everywhere. The blood from the injuries dripped onto the wash basin. In order to wipe them away, he opened the faucet and washed them using the water.

However, the broken mirror wouldn't be able to be fixed easily though. He put that aside and took a first-aid kit from the living room, applying some of disinfectants and bandages to his hand. He also noticed that the wounds from his attempted suicide had healed already, so he took off his bandages from the earlier injuries.

He put back the first-aid kit and went back to the bathroom, where he sighed, looking at the broken mirror.

"Ugh... Now what am I going to do with this? First of all, I should gather the pieces first." He scratched his head.

...

* * *

Author's note:

That's it for now. This is going to be pretty hard since I have to attend with the other fanfics that I just made recently. The plot might be going a little off, and you can see how Canada really loves his brother. But this is not AmericaXCanada though. Because I still prefer USUK above all pairings. But no yaoi. OH NO. Hugging won't be considered a yaoi... right?

Reviews are GREATLY appreciated. Please read and enjoy this! My school is having a big annual event for a week, so I have a LOT of free time. However, I have to attend to a lot of practice exams for my final exam so I can graduate to enter the life of university. Anyway, that's all my rant about my life. Enjoy and review please!


	7. Second to Half

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 7: Second to Half

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

10:00 am in North American continent means 17:00 pm in Europe. Part of Europe.

During that time, England had a visitor in his house, while he was in his garden, talking and playing with the fairies and other mythical creatures. When someone pressed his doorbell, the fairies quickly hid themselves.

England went to the entrance door to answer the call. "Yes, wait a minute!"

When he opened, he was quite confused to see that Canada was the one to visit him. "Oh, America. It's rare for you to visit me."

"England... I'm Canada, not America! Please remember from now on!" Canada sighed and was frustrated.

"O-oh.. Canada? I-I figure it's you... America won't visit me in this time..." England was fidgeting.

"If you knew already, then please don't call me by him..." Canada sighed, again.

"Sorry... That glasses kind of threw me off. Anyway, come in." England opened the door a little bit more to let Canada walked in.

England escorted Canada towards the living room, where he prepared a black tea for the two of them. The living room was near a kitchen, so he could immediately prepare something to serve. After he finished, he gave a cup to Canada. "Sorry, I only got tea leaves in this house. Do you like it?"

The latter took the cup, and smelled the fragrance of the black tea. "It has a nice, warm fragrance..." He smiled a bit before taking a sip.

England sat down on a sofa near to Canada's. He drank the tea and put the cup at the table in front of the two of them, then he started to break the ice. "So, what are you doing here, Canada?"

Canada looked at England for a second before he put the cup on the table too. He took a deep breath first before explaining. "Um, England? You're good with magics, right?"

"Huh? What's with that question? Of course I do. Well, not light magics though." England was quite confused by that question.

"Then, I have something to ask of you." Canada's tone started to go serious. "Do you have a magic for someone to get into other people's subconsciousness?"

England raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He didn't expect to hear something like this from Canada. Not at all. Not one bit. He sipped his tea first before answering that question. "What's this about?"

The latter gulped down a bit. He knew that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone again. He and France knew about this. That's enough already. After he lowered his head for a few seconds, he finally talked to England as he lifted his head. "I can't tell the reasons, but I'm going to need it."

England chuckled. "Do you have someone in trouble with his mind or something?"

_Ouch... That's direct..._ Canada sweatdropped a bit. But he managed to cover it by answering that. "Something like that. Can you teach me how?"

Canada's eager tone and serious face made England's brain rang. Something _definitely_ happened. Something not good. Maybe this magic had something to do with it. After he was thinking for a minute, he stood up.

"...I don't know for sure if that kind of magic existed, but maybe I can try finding it. When I'll find it or not, I'll let you know. Usually these kinds of magics are black magics. So maybe my library had one of the books."

"Thank you very much, England! Please let me know as soon as possible!" Canada stood up and shook England's hands.

"No problem. Just one thing, though."

"Yeah?"

"After you used it, let me know why you need it. Fair?" England released his hands from Canada and crossed his arms on his chest.

This was certainly something that Canada expected to hear. He already knew that England would ask something like this. However, he promised America not to tell anyone. This could be rough...

"...Alright. But I can't make sure. I promised that person not to tell anyone..." Canada looked down a bit. Seeing this, England knew that further demands wouldn't do any good. He sighed a bit.

"Fine. You don't have to tell me right after you used it. You can tell me whenever you want, but be sure to let me know."

Of course, this reply wasn't on Canada's prediction. "Alright. Thank you again, England. Sorry for asking too much."

"It's alright. You are my adopted little brother too, after all." England smiled a bit.

...

* * *

...

America, with his bandaged hands, were walking around the town to take a refresher. He had a not-so-good dream after all. It's only natural he wanted to take a rest. Also, as the Personification of US, he had a duty to monitor his people's conditions. He loved them, and they loved him back. Since the pile of paper works were finished, now he had a lot of free time, particularly. He suddenly didn't really have a will to eat anything, not with his current condition.

He sat down on a bench in a park, seeing the blue morning sky. The sky was clear, with no sign of raining, and with clouds in the sky. His mind wasn't really focused at the time. He muttered few words to himself quietly, so the other people in the park didn't hear him.

"I wonder what kind of nightmare I'm going to have tonight..."

...

* * *

...

Meanwhile, in London Heathrow Airport...

Canada was going to go home since he had done everything he needed to do in England's house. When he was waiting for his airplane in the lobby, a similar face appeared before his eyes. He was holding a piece of paper while looking around, with few people on his sides.

"Oh, Germany! It's rare to see you in here!" Canada immediately approached the rugged-looking nation. The latter looked back at him.

"Oh, you're... Canada, right? What are you doing in UK?" He was quite comfortable while replying back.

"I have something to do with England. Now I'm waiting for my airplane to come."

"That's unusual. I also have a business with England as well."

"Really? What is it, if I may ask?"

"It's about the next World Meeting. I wanted it to be held at England's place. Originally, it was supposed to be Netherlands' place, but he said that he will be busy at that time, so he rejected."

"So, you came for England for the replacement."

"Sort of." Germany scratched his head. "I was going to ask the Nordic regions too, but they wouldn't be much help."

"I don't think so..." Canada sweatdropped.

As the conversation ended, the airplane finally came, giving Canada the cue to leave UK soon. He took his belongings and gave a goodbye wave towards Germany.

...

* * *

Germany arrived at England's house. The two were discussing about the topic in the living room. Both of them were sitting on a different sofa which were located face-to-face, with a table in the middle of it. Germany read a piece of paper to him. After he finished reading, he looked at the bushy-eyebrow nation.

"...That's how it is. So, we would like to have your place for the next World Meeting. Is that acceptable?"

England sipped his tea before putting it down and looked at Germany. "Hmm... I can arrange a Conference Room in the palace, but I'll have to tell the Queen first. Why don't you ask the other EU nations anyway?"

Germany let out a little sigh before answering. "That's what I was planning as well. But lately the others were busy at the time. Of course, I asked the some of the Asian nations, but I figure going to Asia won't be convenient, since most of the countries who attends the meetings are from Europe. It'll be better if we had a meeting in Europe or in America's place."

"Then, why don't you tell America?" England continued to ask.

"I don't know why, but he didn't answer his phone. Though, I think he deliberately shuts it down." Germany looked a little angry, but seemingly worried at the same time.

_America didn't answer the call? He already missed my call the other day, and today too? Something must've happened..._

England suddenly went into a silent treatment. He joined his fingers and rested his chin behind it, making a pose of a thinking person. Although Germany noticed that he had gone silent, he continued talking.

"Anyway, inform me immediately when you got the answer from the Queen." Germany folded the paper and put it in his chest pocket.

"Oh, right..." England was awakened from his daydreaming, and turned to Germany's face.

Germany stood up and prepared himself to go home, when England stopped him, asking a question which the latter didn't expect.

"Hey, _Krautz_. Do you have a knack for magics?" He asked with a rather serious face. However, Germany didn't seem to take that seriously.

"Why do you ask? Of course not. The nations that I know who are good with that kind of topic are either you, your brothers, or Greece. Though, Japan should be able to help too."

"My brothers won't do any good. Their knowledge in magics are not as vast as I am. And asking Greece will be a hassle... Also, I've never heard about magics in Japan." England back to his thinking mode.

Germany put his right arm at his waist. "Anyway, I don't know about magics and I don't really care. Ask your Queen as soon as possible, so I can tell the others."

After saying that, Germany left the house, leaving England at the place, still thinking. Few minutes later, he stood up and prepared to go outside.

"For now I have to inform the Queen about the meeting."

...

* * *

...

Vancouver, Canada...

"Whoa! So this is Vancouver... It's pretty different from the last time I got here. I kinda want to see the Winter Olympics, but too bad that I didn't come in 2010..." France was sort of delighted to see the place where the Winter Olympics 2010 was held.

"You're 2 years late, France... But you can come for the Summer Olympics, though." Canada tried to ease the blonde nation.

"I guess so... Anyway, how's he?" France suddenly turned to a serious face.

"He...? Oh, about America? I don't know yet. He seems fine for now. I went to his house, but he's not there. Because his usual traveling shoes aren't there, so I figure that he maybe went out."

"Hope he's okay. By the way, I called your house earlier, but you didn't answer. Were you going out?" France started to change the subject.

"Oh, I was going to England's house at that time."

France raised his eyebrows, seemingly amused by Canada's actions. "To that tea-sucking bastard place? What for?"

"You see, I think we have to solve America's nightmare problems as soon as possible. So I asked England if he knows a magic to get into someone's subconsciousness."

"Won't that make _Angleterre_ suspicious of us?"

"He said that I won't have to tell him the reasons if I can't. Though, I have to tell him some day." Canada was looking down a bit.

"I see... Well, we just have to make sure that America's alright. But for now, this big brother wants to have a vacation~!" France suddenly became happy, and walked towards few shops in that area.

Canada just sighed in relief and followed France.

...

* * *

...

Back in US, America decided to take a nap and rest. He knew well that he would meet that voice again, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't just stay quiet and watch things unfold. He couldn't. He didn't want to. He shouldn't.

Despite all the odds were against him, he decided to face that voice within himself alone.

...

* * *

...

_America landed into his dreams again. But this time he didn't land on the dark place, rather, it was a small town. The place seemed rural enough. People were gathering here and there. The same as last time, he couldn't touch the people, but he could touch the things in that world._

_Few seconds later, he heard gunshots. He was curious to see what's that, and so he rushed to the shooting direction. Along the way, he could hear people were talking._

_"It looks like we finally won!"_

_"From the Axis, right? Haha! I knew that the Allied Forces are strong!"_

_"Of course! We have more advanced technologies than those evils! Not to mention the collaboration of Soviet Union on this! With us winning, now the world has US and Soviet Union as two most powerful countries!"_

_"Hahaha! I can imagine the faces of those losers already!"_

_"By the way, what date is it today? I have to remember this date of victory!"  
_

_"It's September 2nd. You better remember that!"  
_

_...  
_

_The conversations between the citizens in that area started to ring a bell. America held his forehead for a second, trying to remember something._

_"Me and Russia... were two most powerful countries? Wasn't that supposed to be England, France, Spain, or other ones? When did I become one...?"_

_Few moments later, he finally remembered the event._

_"...I got it! This was the aftermath of the World War II, where we, Allied Forces won the war! Russia and I became the world's most powerful countries at the time! We helped the countries in Europe with their economic problems."_

_However, this condition also raised up another question._

_"Wait a sec... What does this dream had anything to do with my nightmares...?"_

...

* * *

Author's note:

Thanks for waiting. This is chapter 7. America didn't have much appearances in this chapter, and it seemed that England started to act as well. I'll leave the history to you all. But, I guess explaining won't hurt.

*ahem* Second history class, started!

**THE AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II**

With the Axis lost the war, the Allies gained their victory. The war ended in August 14th, 1945, when Japanese army surrendered to American soldiers, and in September 2nd, 1945, Japan signed the _Japanese Instrument of Surrender_, which marked the official end of World War II.

America and Russia collaborated in helping the countries in Europe. US had a big role of helping the countries in the Western Europe to fix their economical problems after the WWII. Meanwhile, Russia or Soviet Union at the time, helped the countries in the Eastern Europe to fix their economical problems as well.

Also, Germany, Japan, and Italy had to pay for the costs of the war, and other consequences, which I forgot.

After the WWII, a lot of countries gained their independence, and Russia used their opportunity to widen their strength, by influencing some countries in Eastern Europe into communists, because they're the ones who freed the countries from Germany's hand.

US, though, couldn't accept this, for their principality were Liberalism, whereas Soviet Union were Social-Communism. This difference in ideology was what provoked another war to start.

Look it up in Wiki to know more.

Again, if I made mistakes please tell me. I'm not fond of World History.

This is a hard chapter to make, since I had to learn more about the aftermath in WWII, which I, unfortunately, forgot, even though my teacher already taught about it in class... :'(

Next up, another history. Please read and review!


	8. Continuous Nightmares

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 8: Continuous Nightmares

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

_The town scenery suddenly changed into a conference room. America was standing between a heated debate between two people. One of them was him, in a slightly younger version. No. It's not the slightly younger version of him. It was him. The present him._

_The other side of the debate, was someone who was one of his allies during the World War II. He wore a long scarf, and seemingly had a childlike smile on his face._

_"Soviet Union! I can't accept this! If you used your principality, then it will mean robbing people from their freedom!" The past America punched the conference table with anger._

_"But, you do realize that if the world followed communism, then people will become even more educated, and poverty will be suppressed, right?" Soviet Union replied with a smile. "As the world's two most powerful military, then we do have the power to influence the world, am I right?"_

_"It's true, but we have to use that power not to control others, but to live peacefully with other countries!"_

_The present America could hear and see this heated argument, between the past him and the past Russia. However, the scenery suddenly changed again, so he couldn't hear the rest of the argument.  
_

_What it changed into, was a space without boundaries, without any walls. It's just a dark place, where he could see that he was rather transparent. It seemed that he couldn't do anything, unlike the previous past events._

_..._

_Inside that space, he saw someone far across where he was standing. He was holding a flag. The flag was red-colored, and had a symbol of communist in it. There were a lot of people around him. A young man talked to the person who was holding the flag._

_"Russia-san, we're sorry, but we can't stand this any longer. This coup de'tat has gone too far."_

_"As of today, September 6th, 1991, we, the three Baltic nations declared our independence from Soviet Union! From now on, we are Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia." The three nations left the person._

_"Gorbachev also said that communism won't work in Soviet Union." Russia sighed with a small smile and looked at the flag. "I figured that this day will arrive, sooner or later."_

_Russia torn the flag into small parts and threw them onto the ground._

_..._

_America could only looked at this event in distress._

_End of 1991, Soviet Union was dissolved._

...

* * *

...

**_"You dare to rob someone else's happiness. And you say that you don't want to rob other's freedom? You're such a laughing matter. What kind of hero who robbed others' happiness?"_**

_America was shocked to hear this dark voice at all of the sudden._

_**"At that time, Russia had an enjoyable time with his friends. Well, not really friends, but he was happy to have a lot of nations in his grasp. And yet, you robbed it away."** The voice sneered in America's ears._

_He couldn't really counter this one, yet he tried to find one excuse that at least could back up his ideals. "S-stealing one's freedom is a crime too! I wanted every single person in the world to be free! That's why I rejected his ideals! What he did, was destroying others' freedom!"_

**_"It's true that you rejected him, but that still doesn't back up the reason of why you had to send military armies to suppress his power. Like in Afghanistan and Persian Gulf? Moreover, the one who stationed the soldiers in Persian Gulf is you, right?"_**

_The voice seemed to be smart enough to counter ever single of America's excuses. The latter wasn't quite strong enough to stand the pressure. He realized that he had to endure, but this was going even farther than just had to endure. He stood still with fear, as the voice continued to mock him.  
_

...

* * *

...

Meanwhile, in United Kingdom, England's house...

He went home as he sighed a bit. He took off his clothes and put them on a clothes rack. He changed into his usual outfit, his green military uniform. He went to the living room, and took his cellphone, looking at the screen.

_I think I should call Germany. The meeting place has already been decided. Good thing the Queen gave a permission. Now, one problem solved, I still have another..._

England sent a message to Germany. As he finished, he closed his cellphone, and went to his bedroom, taking his black robe he usually wore when he was about to conduct magics. He went further deeper into his house, and then took a basement stair towards underground.

In that place, there was a long hall with dim light bulbs along the way. He went to the first door in the hall, and opened it. It was a room with a lot of books. Simply put, it's a library. England turned on the switch, and the room turned bright. Unlike the hall, the library used neon lights, so it was really bright.

The room's walls, floors, and furniture were all made from wood. They all looked pretty old. England closed the door, and started searching the books.

After hours of searching, he sat down on the floor, with his legs crossed, and books all around him. He opened them one by one, and then threw them to the back.

"Nope... No, not this one either... This one's a no too..." England continued to flip the books. He closed a book, and then looked at the books around him. "This is going to be a hassle... And I don't even know if that sort of magic existed or not."

England carried a stack of books, and put them back on the shelves again. When he was about to take another stack, he saw pile of papers on the table. He was interested, so he took one of the papers. He read it for a second, and then he suddenly widened his eyes. "Th-this is...!"

He looked at the other papers on the table. He checked them one by one, and his expression grew even more shocked.

_I've never seen these magic circles before... But, according to the incantations written in this circle..._

England was deep in thought. Then, few seconds later, he looked like he got an idea.

_I got it! These are the magic circles that I was working years ago! But the circles weren't a success, so I decided to stop the research... It has been years ever since I last checked this. Maybe if I fix it now, I can get a result! But, this is still a gamble... I can't guarantee this circles' success. However, at least I got a lead now. Alright, I think I had to pull an all-nighter for this one._

...

* * *

...

_The dreams seemed to have ended, but unfortunately, it didn't. America was thrown into another place. This time, he was standing near a hospital. The people were passing here and there. With little hard work, America was able to take a peek on the time. It was a little towards noon, and apparently a few days after the Cold War. He was confused of the timelines. True, it's chronological, but these stuffs started to become complicated. The voice wanted to tease and mock America, pressuring him with depressing memories, but what was the purpose? What for? Was it to destroy his ideals to become a hero?_

_He stared at the hospital. Few minutes later, he realized that he couldn't ignore the feeling that he had to open the hospital door and went inside. He grabbed the door knob, and suddenly, flashes of memories appeared in his eyes. He suddenly heard screams and yells. They were pleading and begging for forgiveness, and they were asking to be spared. Just by hearing this, America soon knew that he was hearing the sound of the holocaust, where he shot them heartlessly in his previous dreams._

_He quickly let go of his grip and started to doubt his intuitions. Should he really go? Was the hospital really important?_

_However, the feeling continued to grow and it wouldn't disappear. The feelings of anxious, nervousness, curiosity, fear, excitement... All feelings were accumulated in his mind._

_Slowly, but surely, he reached the doorknobs once again. When he touched it, his memories started to flash in front of his eyes again. However, this time he mustered up his courage, and opened the hospital door._

_When he opened it, he saw a normal view of a hospital lobby. There were few patients who were waiting in the lobby. There were also children and old people as well. Nurses and doctors were also there. They were talking with the patients._

_America saw this as a normal thing. He looked around and felt a little bit relieved. The people in there were not able to communicate with him, as usual. After the peaceful silence, America suddenly had a little headache. Then, he suddenly heard a faint voice inside his head. He thought it was the intimidating voice, but it's not._

_"...go...to... 2nd... floor... Room-"_

_However, before the voice continued, it was cut off and America couldn't hear it again. After he became calmer, he decided to follow this voice and went to the second floor._

_..._

_He found a lot of rooms in the second floor. However, the voice didn't tell anything about the room's number, so he just walked around the hall._

_He reached one of the rooms, and suddenly he had a bad feeling, a feeling that didn't appear when he approached the other rooms. Because of his curiosity, he opened the door._

_Inside the ward, was someone who were in his sitting position in a hospital bed. He looked at outside by looking at the window which was located on the bed's left side. He had a melancholic face and he appeared to be bandaged and was injured pretty bad._

_Seeing this person, America immediately knew who it was. He had a short, black hair. He wanted to call out his name, but he believed that he wouldn't be able to hear him anyway. His lips were trembling. He walked inside and closed the door, while trying to approach the person slowly._

_He reached out his hand towards him, and then he tries calling his name. "Japan...?"_

_The person didn't seem to respond for a few seconds. America sighed, seemingly already knew that this would happen. However, to his surprise, the person suddenly turned his face towards him. It appeared that the person really could hear him after all._

_America saw the injured person's face. He had a bandage covering his left eye and a small one on his right cheek._

_"Y-you... you could... hear me?" America wasn't quite convinced._

_"You're... America-san, right?" Japan asked America with a confused face._

_In some point, America was quite happy that there was one person whom he could communicate with. However, when he was about to talk more, he was interrupted by an uninvited guest._

_**"You have no heart. What is this? Sympathizing someone whom you almost killed?"** The voice suddenly sneering on him again. **"Do you even care to know what kind of damage you've done? Did you even realize how bad was the damage? Did you realize what kind of ordeal he had to go through?"**_

_America didn't fight back. This time he just endured it._

_**"What now? You're undergoing a silent treatment? Admit it! You are just running from the truth! You want to believe that a hero like you never hurt someone in the past!"** The voice was getting even more aggressive than before. It was different._

_"I'm not running! I, I just...!" America held his head with his two hands and shook it in distress. He was struggling to endure the voice's pressure._

_**"You ARE running! Like I said many times before, you just wanted to forget! If you were never running from the truth, then why did you forget the memories!?"** The voice became angry, and at the same time, America was transferred back into the dark place._

_When America opened his eyes, the voice had stopped talking. He was worried and feeling sick. The voice sounded different this time. It was angry, and not intimidating. However, even though things had calmed down, America was still too unstable._

_After he was silent for a while there, he suddenly saw a flash of memory in front of his eyes._

* * *

_"How about it, Japan? Why don't you try opening up a bit and see the world?"_

_"Seeing the world?"_

_"Yeah! There are a lot of countries out there, and now I'm traveling around the world to meet a lot of different people! You can meet a lot of them too, and learn their cultures! Wouldn't it be better than just staying in your house, without socializing with other countries? It's suffocating if you ask me."_

_Seeing the world... Could it be... that this person is actually not a bad person?_

* * *

...

_When the memory ended, America suddenly felt that he was wrapped in something. He looked around his body, and it turned out that his body was chained. He couldn't move his hands either. He also realized that he was sitting on a wooden chair. He didn't know how or when this happened. All he knew was, he couldn't do a thing in this state. Then, he heard a sound of footsteps. It slowly approached him, step by step, until finally he could see the person._

_He had a pair of glowing gold eyes with the exact same face as America. He smirked evilly towards the chained nation, as he rested his left hand on his waist. **"Now now. It won't do any good if you move carelessly."**_

_"Heh. Nice talk for someone who copycatted someone else's face."_

**_"You still don't get it? We are one in the same after all. We both want to be a hero, and we both want to save the people and protect them."_**

_"Still, it's freaky to see someone who is exactly looked like you in front of your eyes." America showed a mocking smirk. Despite his conditions, he tried to cover his fear._

**_"True. Since we are the same person, I have one question that I've been wondering."_**

_The person with the gold eyes walked closer towards America. He used his hand to hold America's chin, and lifted it a bit. Now, his face was really close to America's face._

**_"Since when I wanted to become a hero...?"_**

...

* * *

Author's note:

I think the plot is progressing really slow. But I wanted to put more feeling to it. Anyway, explaining the history is a pain, so I'll just list what histories are in this chap.

**Cold War Between US and Soviet Union.**

Welcome to the third history lesson~! Anyways, we all know that Allied Forces won the WWII, and the Axis lost. Ever since then, US and Russia (Soviet Union at the time), became the two most powerful countries with a great influence on the world.

This part has been written in the previous chapter, so look it up.

The hospital part is about me explaining the damages of the atomic bomb during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In YouTube, there's a lot of videos which show that Japan was extremely injured everywhere, and his left or right eye were damaged along with it. I'm referencing to that.

Okay, that's all folks. Now, I have to study 21 pages for my history exam tomorrow... Dude, that history teacher is a dick! She gave us 21 pages that has to be memorized, and most of the parts are not the things that I like! DX

The big annual event has ended, so school has started... again.

Oh yeah. I'm into Devil Survivor lately. ATLUS sure knows how to hook people with their amazing storylines and games! I listened to the Drama CDs like there's no tomorrow~!

*ahem* Reviews are appreciated guys!


	9. Regeneration

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 9: Regeneration

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

**_"Since when I wanted to become a hero...?"_**

...

* * *

The sight returned to a white ceiling. He went to his sitting position slowly as he had a lot of things to think about. Strangely enough, the nightmares didn't surprise or shock America one tiny bit. He just woke up as usual, as if nothing had happened. However, that aside, that one question was enough to make America thought hard until he forgot what time was it.

The clock at the wall showed that it was almost noon. He had slept for a terribly long time. He got out of the bed and prepared himself for the rest of the day.

He was still thinking about that question. It's true though. America's hero complex wasn't really bad during his childhood. It seemed that this complex appeared few years after he declared his independence. But what really drove him to think so? To hope so?

Was it really important to him to become a hero?

But becoming a hero was always his ultimate goal. He wanted to help people. He wished for people to be free.

So what makes him so frustrated?

...

As a refresher, he went to a hill nearby and took a fresh air. He needed it to relax himself from all of the nightmares. He walked deeper into the grassy field on the hill, where the winds suddenly blew hard. The winds were pretty hard, which swept some of his hair.

When it finally calmed down a bit, he opened his palm and the soft wind brought him a green leaf on top of it. He looked at it, and then suddenly he felt a weird feeling of peace and calm. He muttered few words before the leaf flew again. "I guess, thinking about it won't help much... huh?"

* * *

...

England's house, London.

England fell asleep on his desk in the underground library. Stacks of papers and scripts were scattered all over the place. In the wooden floor, there was a magic circle, which was still unfinished. He snored quite loud.

His sleep was interrupted though.

"Wake up,_ brither!_ Don't sleep in here!"

Followed by the sound of moaning, he slowly opened his eyes. As he awoke, he rubbed his eyes. "Huh? What...? What time is this...?"

"It's 4 p.m. What are you doing, sleeping in a place like this? Take care of your health more, _brither_. You're not getting any younger." A tall young man with auburn hair talked to England right in front of his desk.

Just by the accent, England quickly noticed who it was. "Scotland? You're here?"

"Correct. I called your house, but you didn't answer. I figured you'd be at the underground, again, so I came down here." The Scot put his arms on his waist as he sighed.

"Really? Sorry for worrying..." England sat up straight as he sorted the papers on the table.

"Anyway, what are these scriptures? I honestly never saw them before." Scotland helped England to gather the papers that was on the floor.

"Huh? They are the magic circles that I gave up researching long ago. At that time I wasn't really well-informed about incantations, so I left them. But right now I can read it."

"So? What are they for?" Scotland didn't look very interested as he gave the papers that he gathered back to England.

"They are used to enter someone's inner mind." England put the stacks of paper on the table as he got up and went to a bookshelf.

Scotland raised one of his eyebrows. "There's a magic like that? That's sort of uplifting."

"That's why I told you all to study them properly." England sighed to his brother. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Oh, right. You were sent a package. But since you weren't home at the time, the postman delivered it to me. And here, I give it back to you." Scotland gave a brown box towards England.

...

England put the books he held on the table, took the brown box and examined it. It was covered by a brown paper, and seemed to be an ordinary package. But seeing this reminded him of one thing.

_Wait a sec... Isn't this similar to the package that I gave to America a few days ago?_

He was anxious. The bad feeling wouldn't go away. The Scottish in front of him just looked at England with a confused face, as to why England looked so uneasy.

He tore open the cover and it revealed to have another box in it. He opened it, and inside the box, was a knife.

Not just an ordinary knife.

It was a large kitchen knife. It had been polished and sharpened quite good.

"A knife? Why would someone send you a knife? Is that a threat ransom? Or did you order it from a house ware section in the television?" Scotland was curious.

Ignoring the Scot's words, he examined the knife keenly. The knife was shining, with a sharp, silver blade. It was really clean, as if was never used before. No blood trace on it, no signs that it had been used, as if it was new.

"Whatever the reason, someone who sent this must be a psycho. I mean who would've sent a kitchen knife to someone else? Sure it's new and all, but this is rare, right?" Scotland sighed in disagreement.

"Anyway, I'm gonna put this in the kitchen. I can think about who sent it later today. For now, encrypting the scriptures are more important." England put back the knife into the box and put it on the another table in the room.

He gathered the papers and began researching again. Scotland only looked at the hard-working England with his eyebrows raised. His actions did raise a question. "Why are you so worked up on a magic circle that you gave up long time ago?"

"It's important. But sorry, I can't tell you why." England continued his research without even looking at Scotland.

"Fine then. I'll just dig into it myself. I finished what I came here to do, so I'm outta here." Scotland left the room.

However, England was so busy, he didn't even notice that Scotland had left.

He got out of the chair, and took another book. He read it at a speed of light and then returned it to the shelf as he sighed in stress.

_It's hard to find the correct incantations for this magic... Most of them in the magic circle are finished already, but I still need more finishing touches to make sure it can be completed. No wonder I gave up on it long ago. Maybe I should go ask another country about this matter..._

With that mindset, England left the library, leaving the incomplete magic circle on the floor and the stacks of books and papers on the table. He exited the underground, took off his black coat, and hanged it onto a clothes rack. He prepared his traveling clothes, and took his cellphone, dialing some numbers.

A "click" sound was heard, and a sleepy voice replied to England's call.

_"Umh... Who is this...?"_ The voice didn't sound very energetic.

"Oh, Greece? It's me England. I have a little favor."

_"Favor? At all of a sudden?"_ Greece rubbed his eyes.

"Can I visit your ancient ruins, left by your mother?"

England's favor was rather unusual. Since when he was interested in archeology? _"By my mother? Do you mean Ancient Greece?"_

"Yes, yes. Can I? This is something important." He was rather rushed.

_"Well, I don't mind at all... But what happened? I don't know that you are interested in ancient ruins."_

"I-it's because ancient things are also traditional! Don't get over your head!" England was reddening. Of course, Greece could see through his tsundere-ness.

_"Hmm... Alright. Come whatever time you can... I'll be waiting at the airport..."_ Greece closed his cellphone, and so did England.

_Maybe Greece's ancient ruins can help with my research... I just need a little more clues anyway. I need to prepare everything._

England prepared his briefcase for departing tomorrow.

...

* * *

...

America's house, Washington D.C.

The said nation was rummaging his bedroom, especially the drawers and his working desk. The floor was full of papers and other things that was in the room. Documents, stationary, gadgets, books, etc. All of them were scattered everywhere.

The wall which was previously stained with blood had become clean. It seemed that the blood on the floor and the wall had disappeared.

He was acting very unlikely. He looked as if he was in despair. As if his hopes had flickered into dim lights. With hopeless and half-scared face, he kept on rummaging through the room. However, he didn't know what he was searching to begin with. What was he doing? Why did he do this? What was the purpose...?

He sighed heavily and sat down on the floor, with his head lowered down and his legs crossed. His face and condition was unhealthy.

"What am I doing...? Why am I..."

He looked around the messy room, thinking that it would be hard to tidy them up again. He flipped a piece of paper that was near him. Under it, was a photo. He was intrigued, so he took it and looked at the photo.

It was a photo of a young man in kimono and himself.

Something's weird. America needed a few minutes to recognize the people inside that photo.

"This is... Japan and... me?"

In the photo, Japan was smiling slightly, while the America in the photo was grinning happily. The photo's background and layout showed that it was taken during the Edo period in Japan.

America flipped the photo, seeing a few writings on the back.

* * *

_- 1853 -  
- First time meeting Japan -_  
_- I can finally befriend a whale! Yahoo! -_

* * *

The writings were stupid. They _are_ stupid.

So what he thought at the moment.

But he couldn't deny that it was his writing. He was the one who wrote it.

Followed by a small chuckle, he stood up and put that photo on the table. He seemed to have taken control of his own body again. He gathered the documents and the papers on the floor and sorted them out, before putting them inside his working archives.

_**"Now now. Isn't that a nice memory?"**_

Because he had become used to the annoying voice, he wasn't surprised to hear that thing again. "Came here to annoy me? You have a nice trick, manipulating my mind like that."

**_"Hmm? Manipulating? Hold on, I don't get it."_**

"Don't lie. You're the one who controlled my mind when I shot myself, and this time too, right?"

_**"Who knows. It could be. It could not."**_

"Thanks for the refresher."

America took the books and put them on the shelf. He was getting used to converse with the voice. But he still wanted to be left alone. He wanted to let those memories away from him.

And... Things were getting different.

America had become different.

He was changing.

Not for the better.

Not for the worst.

But... He was getting out of his character.

**_"People change, and nations change. What a weird, yet interesting fact."_**

"What's with that philosophical statement?"

**_"Anyway, since I'm a nice guy, I can tell you one thing."_**

America stopped tidying the mess. He was rather curious to hear what the voice was going to say.

_**"After this, you won't be known as "America" again..."**_

And it disappeared.

...

* * *

**_A/N: Changing my writing style a bit. Chapter 9 done, and this is out of my original plan. A little bit history won't hurt, right?_**

**_BLACK SHIPS HAVE COME~_**

**_The part where America visited Japan to open trade. Originally, Japan didn't want any foreigners to come. What is the purpose of disturbing a country which wanted to be left alone? But America sent some of their warships in order to make a trade with the island nation. Within 5 years after the ships, Japan ended their isolation. Partially thanks to America, actually._**


	10. Connection

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 10: Connection

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

...

The last statement given by the voice confused and scared America a bit. What could he mean by "not known as America again"?

He is America, and he will always be America. It's not like a nation could be killed. Thousands of experiments and trials had been conducted. The only thing that could hurt a nation, were the feelings of the people. Of course, this gave few nations a relief, but not for some others. Because of this fact, their feelings and minds were unstable.

But of course, there were some nations who could endure this and live a normal life.

And America? Where was he belong to?

As he kept on tidying the mess, he kept on thinking about the words left behind by the voice.

But the sound of knocking door quickly stopped America from his daydream. He put down the things that he was carrying, rushed off towards the entrance door, and opened it. It was his worrywart brother.

"Oh, America. Good to see you're okay."

"Yeah, thanks. But you don't need to worry about me all the time."

"I can't. Those nightmares have been bothering you, right? Moreover, last time you almost committed suicide. How can I not be worried? What kind of dream this time?"

America sighed. There's no stopping Canada once he started worrying. That trait looked similar to himself, though.

"Anyway, talking here isn't right. Come, let's go inside."

Both of them went into the house. Canada stopped at the living room, but he was curious as to why America was heading straight into his bedroom. He had a guest! Isn't it about time he showed a little bit of courtesy?

The bear-hugging nation followed America to his bedroom, and was quite uncomfortable to see that his bedroom was a real mess. Books and papers were scattered everywhere, stationary, and other documents.

Canada walked in to offer a help to America, who was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, and was sorting the papers. But he grew even more confused because there's something very unusual here.

There was no food.

Not even a spice, the leftovers, nothing.

He couldn't even sense a smell of hamburgers, which is America's favorite food.

In one side, this relieved Canada, because maybe his twin brother was changing his behavior.

However, on the other side, he was scared.

Scared that something bad would happen. And he's not joking.

He had a bad feeling. The one which would not fade away, no matter how hard he tried.

It was as if...

...they wouldn't see each other again...

...

"Hey! Canada!"

The said nation was soon awakened from his fantasy. He turned to America's face, which was right in front of him.

"Uh.. what? America?"

"Why are you staring at my room? Is it that interesting?"

"No, not that!" Canada growled. "It's just... I don't smell any hamburgers here. Are you going through a healthy diet?"

"What? No. I just... don't feel like buying one. I was just relaxing on the park and when I realized it, I was in my room, rummaging through things... I don't even know what I'm doing."

"Could it be... the nightmares? They are taking effects?" Canada wasn't sure how to reply, but if he connected it to the incidents that happened to America, this was the only thing he could think of.

"I-I don't know... Maybe... that's the real case..." America's voice had gone softer. He sat down on the floor in silence. One look, and Canada immediately understood.

He was trembling.

Trembling in fear. His eyes showed clearly that he really wasn't in a top condition. His eyes were filled with fear.

This was something that was really unusual. What exactly had happened?

Even though he was a bit reluctant, Canada walked towards America's back and sat down. He leaned his back against America's.

He stretched his legs and rested his hands on the floor, with Kumajiro sitting on his lap. His curly hair touched America's neck, and the latter could feel a little bit ticklish.

But he just shoved it away, because he knew that the kindness of his blood relative could soothe his heart.

He smiled peacefully, and did the exact same pose as Canada.

It was faint, but Canada could hear bits of words that America said.

"...Thanks..."

* * *

...

Athens, Greece.

Greece brought England towards an abandoned ruin. With his traveling equipment, he was quite surprised to see a lot of other ruins beside the one they're in right now.

With his slow response, Greece pointed towards a ruin's entrance. "That's... the remains of the ruins... that my mother left behind..." He was still half asleep.

"Can I go down there?"

"Sure... But be careful... Do you want me to escort you around?"

"Nah, no need. I can handle myself just fine."

England entered the ruin's entrance, deeper into the underground, while Greece was looking at him, with his sleepy eyes and a cat resting on his head.

The bushy eyebrows nation continued onward, where the ruins became deeper and darker. He only got a flashlight with him to lead and light the way.

However, no matter how many times he took detours and ways, in the end all of them led to a dead end. When he examined the walls which was filled with pictures, someone suddenly sneaked up behind him.

England quickly turned back, but became disappointed when he saw that it was Greece who surprised him.

"Bloody wanker! You're creeping me out!"

"But... you look so confused. I figure that I really need to help you after all."

Greece walked closer towards the wall, and took a look at the drawings. After a few seconds of examining, he looked like he got an idea.

"These are... the drawings of the Legend of Orpheus..."

"A what?"

"Legend of Orpheus. It was a name of a lyre player who came to the Underworld to save his wife."

"He... what!?"

"He came into the Underworld to save his wife. What about it?"

_The perspective is different, but from what I heard, the Underworld is a different world... Maybe this could get me something nice._

"Greece. Could you tell me more about this story?"

"Okay... But first you were interested in ruins and now myths...?"

"Sh-shut up! Just tell me already!"

"Alright... I have a book about it in my house... Let's go..."

Still sleepy, Greece escorted England out of the ruins, towards the city of Athens, Greece's home.

* * *

...

While Greece was sleeping on a sofa, England sat on a chair and read the book. He was lucky because he could find English-translated books in the house. Most of the main books are in Greeks, so he couldn't possibly read those. He was reading with full attention. However, the book didn't seem to provide any useful information.

He closed the book and released a sigh. "It's no good... I can't find any good ideas..."

He went to the bookshelf and searched for more books for reference. He flipped more pages, and when he reached a point, he suddenly stopped flipping.

_This letter... I've seen that in the magic circles..._

England quickly opened his bag and took a piece of paper that had a graph of that magic circle he's currently working on.

_I knew it! Lambda... this is one of the letters in the circle. Now that I see it, there are a lot of Greeks in this circle. But with Greece is sleeping, I have to look it up myself..._

...

* * *

Few hours later...

Greece awoke from his sleep, and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, and he didn't see England anywhere. Still rubbing his eyes, he noticed an envelope on the table. He opened it, and it's a letter.

* * *

...

_To Greece,_  
_Sorry for leaving so suddenly. But I had to go back to London right away. Thanks a lot for your help. Those books really gave me a lot of inspirations. I was thinking to wake you up, but it would be rude for a gentleman to interrupt someone who's sleeping. Still, I can't say the reasons for me doing this. I like the Orpheus story though._

_England._

...

* * *

"In the end... he didn't tell me after all..."

Greece exited his house with the cats meowing around him.

* * *

...

"America, I'll be going now. I have some other things to do at home." Canada put on his shoes. "If you're not feeling well again, just tell me. We're brothers, after all."

"Alright, alright. You're starting to become nosy..." America scratched his head.

"Ahaha... It maybe true, but it's because I'm worried about you. Oh yeah, the next meeting will be held in a few months, in England's house."

"England's? Alrighty." America gave a small reply.

After Canada done putting his shoes, he opened the entrance door, while giving a goodbye-wave towards America. The latter replied with a small smile.

When he couldn't see his brother from the streets again, he closed the entrance door and entered his bedroom again, where the things were tidied up and were cleaned. Canada really did a nice helping.

Still, numbers of worries and complicated feelings were still lingering in America's mind. He never did mention a thing about the voice inside his head to anyone. It was all too random and abstract. He couldn't explain it even if he wanted to, and he couldn't resist it either. He wanted to break free from the voice, but he couldn't.

Just who could release him from the curse?

...

* * *

England's house, London...

The returned nation was greeted by fairies and other mythical creatures for his arrival. He quickly took his black coat and went to the underground library, where the unfinished magic circle was waiting.

With the bunch of data he was able to gather, he quickly drew the new incantations to the circle.

The magic circle took shape of a star in a circle, and a hexagon crossing it, passing through the outline borders. Words and letters were written in the circle. Fearing that the circle might be erased easily, England decided to draw it using a magic marker, which could only be erased by water.

"Alright... This should be it." He finally finished completing the circle.

England, with his mixed feelings of doubt, nervousness, and excitement, stood inside the circle to make sure that all the letters and the lines were drawn correctly. He went out of the circle when he was sure that nothing went wrong.

He knew that he had to try this circle in order to be sure that it's perfect. However, he had just one little problem: he had no scapegoat to experiment with.

Of course, he wouldn't want to use his own people for this experiment. He wouldn't even dare to use animals, since they probably didn't have their own subconsciousness. He also wouldn't go as far as to sacrifice other countries, since he wouldn't know what effects would occur.

After moments of thinking, he could only think of one thing: Why doesn't he use himself as the scapegoat?

Well, frankly speaking, it might be impossible to use himself to enter his own subconsciousness. But, given the current minority, he had to use anything available.

* * *

He took his book, and stood inside the circle again. Then, he began to chant few incantations. Few seconds later, the magic circle started to emit green lights. The lights grew even taller and powerful when England continued to chant.

But his spirit depleted when the lights went out a few seconds after he finished chanting.

"Did it fail? Then I'll have to remake this from scratch again..." He was a little dispirited.

He was about to give up, when the circle emitted another green light. England stopped for a second to see what would happen.

But it all happened too fast. In a second, the small green lights turned into a green tornado that engulfed England. The wind was strong, and he couldn't get out. Inside the tornado, flashes of lights and winds were suddenly released from the tornado, and they pierced England's body.

The piercing were not just one or two. But a LOT of them. They kept on piercing his body, giving a great pain to his body. However, there were no injuries or blood whatsoever. He yelled and shouted in pain, as he tried to hold up the pain. When the attacks finally ended, the green tornado ended as well. The green lights faded from the circle.

When things had calmed and gone silent, England fell onto the ground with his mouth and eyes opened and seemingly had gone into a pair of plain, green eyes.

* * *

...

**_A/N: As I'm saying in my other fanfictions, I'm changing the story format and my writing style a bit. Something happened to England? Hope it's nothing bad. Look forward for more chapters, and I hope you like this one too._**

**_Oh yeah, I forgot. The Legend of Orpheus, the Lyre Player. _****_I actually got this from playing Persona 3. Anyway, if you wanna know about it, google is your best friend._**

**_Reviews are welcomed._**


	11. Distorted

Conflicted Minds

by RavenExpert

A Hetalia fanfiction.

Chapter 11: Distorted

Rated T for tragedy, angst, blood, hurt, and possible character death.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA. RIGHTS DON'T BELONG TO ME :)

* * *

When he finally woke up, he was floating in an unknown space which was black. It was dark all over. No light and no boundary.

He couldn't tell whether he was still closing his eyes, or not. Either way, it was dark.

Few seconds later, he could feel the gravity was rising, and he suddenly fell down. Not unto the ground though.

But into a splash of water.

He was worried for a second there, but looks like he didn't need to worry. He could breath in the water.

His body continued to fall down, until he reached the ground floor. He was able to stand on it. As he looked around, he heard a sound of a ship coming. But, how could a ship sail in a middle of the water? Could it be a submarine?

It turned out his speculation was wrong. Before he could see the truth, the scene blurred and the water subsided. When he opened his eyes, he was floating in the middle of the sea.

Well, not exactly in the middle of the sea. He was close to the shore. His clothes and whole body were drenched in sea water. Staying wouldn't do any good. He stood up and walked to the shore. If you ask why he didn't swim to the shore, well... there are few conditions about that.

He wanted to stop and dry his clothes, but he couldn't because he heard sounds of sword-slashing and gun-shots. He couldn't simply ignore that and run away. Forget drying his clothes, he had to go and see.

England brushed through the bushes until he finally found the source of those ill sounds.

A young man was surrounded by a group of thugs carrying axes and other dangerous weapons. The young man wore a simple, country-boy like clothes, with opened brown vest. He also had a brown spiky hair, with one hair sticking out. He had injuries and bruises all over his body, and was panting a hard breath because he looked tired.

"Heh! Not so good looking, eh!? This is what you get from spying on us and trying to resist!"

"We are doing the right thing! Stop acting like a big fat hero, when you are not even one!"

The thugs were laughing and started to walk even closer to the man. Uniquely enough, the latter wasn't afraid, but rather, he was smiling.

"Heh... Are my ears going deaf? Human trafficking and slave labors are the right things? I guess your brains are going down."

"Wha..! Shut up!"

One of the thugs swung an axe towards the man. England, who was watching from the distance, couldn't calm down. He quickly moved away from his hiding place, running towards the attack.

But the next he saw was black.

After he received the attack.

With little consciousness left, he heard voices.

"Hey! This is bad... Who is he!?"

"Who cares!? Let's kill him too!"

Even though his sight was blurred, he still could see a silhouette fighting back. Few seconds later, his consciousness slipped away, while the man was shouting.

"-ey. Hey! Get a hold of yourself!"

* * *

...

It felt like hours. He finally opened his eyes. But he was greeted with a familiar face right in front of his face right after he regained consciousness.

"You're okay! Dude, that freaked me out..." The young man sat in the bed with a long sigh.

England sat down in bed too, as he held his wounds.

"Whoa, dude! You shouldn't move so sudden! Your wounds are like hell! Bloods were splattering and scattering everywhere!"

"Shut up... That's my line... I'm the one who saved you, and yet you're the one worrying about me..."

"Oh, yeah. That's right." The young man got off the bed and stood up. "Thanks for saving me. I can't believe that a hero like me had to be saved, and not saving someone else..."

England knew those punchlines everywhere. The man's face became the proof.

_He is different, but he must be..._ England was deep in thought._ ...The past America._

And you know what? He might be true.

_Does this mean that I'm really in my own subconsciousness? Then, that magic circle is a success after all. But... what should I do now? Now that I have confirmed the spell's success, I have to go back. But how can I do that?_

"Hey! Are you listening!?"

The man flipped his finger in front of England's face, thus waking him from his thought.

"Huh, what?"

"I was asking your name! Who are you, and why are you here?"

_Huh? This is weird. If this event really did occur in the past, then why did America forget who I am? I'm the great Britain Empire, for god's sake! The one who raised this bloody git!_

"Hello? I'm asking you!"

_At any rate, stating my nation name will be awkward... I should state my other name instead._

"My name's Arthur Kirkland. How about you?"

"Good, you finally answer. I'm the hero, Alfred F. Jones!"

Of course, Alfred's answer shocked England.

_...Eh? Why did he state his human name? Isn't he America?_

He was curious to one point, and decided to ask that man boldly.

"Aren't you a Personification?"

"Perso... what? I don't get what you mean." Alfred gave a confused look. "Well, anyway. You better rest for few more days, Arthur! That wound was deep."

Alfred left the room, leaving England by himself, thinking deeply.

However, he was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice that the scenery had changed. He needed few minutes to realize that.

* * *

He returned back to the black place. He waited few minutes for something to happen. And something did happen.

A black portal suddenly appeared in front of his standing spot. Don't know why, but he felt like this was the final trial he had to withstand in this place. With his courage mustered, he went through the portal and fell down slowly, as he looked at the black portal.

However, something had shocked him even more.

As the portal was closing, he saw someone standing and looking sinisterly and evilly towards the falling England. He widened his eyes to see that that "someone" was no other than America.

But something was different.

His eyes were filled with gold colors.

In contrast to his usual, vivid blue colors.

Something WILL happen to America. That's what England thought.

But what could it be?

...

* * *

_**A/N: Okay, sorry for not updating lately. My feet hurt and my head hurts... This is just a short chapter, and I really don't know what to put in here, since I kinda lost track of the story. A plot twist? Maybe.**_

_**Reviews and comments are appreciated.**_


End file.
